The wind rustled through the dense forest canopy as Julien Reinhart stood silently on a branch, eyes tracking the fading blur of Arthur Valerian leaping from tree to tree. In mere seconds, the boy vanished into the wilderness.
Julien didn't move. He didn't speak.
He simply watched, lost in thought.
"So that's the Northern Blade…" he murmured, barely audible.
A strange feeling stirred in his chest. Not fear. Not envy.
Something colder. Something deeper. A quiet fire.
⸻
Memories surfaced.
Years ago — Reinhart Estate
A brutal training ground.
Crimson-stained floors.
Screams muffled by discipline.
Count Evan Reinhart, the Spear of Flame—his father—didn't train children.
He tempered them like weapons.
Julien had seen it with his own eyes—how his elder brother, born with Mana Blockage Disease, was disowned, banished from the estate like a failed experiment. A boy without mana had no place in the Reinhart bloodline.
And so, all expectations fell upon Julien.
And he delivered.
His first mana circuit at age four.
Seven circuits by eleven.
Spear mastery that outclassed many grown men.
He became a rising star of the empire.
He was a weapon. A perfect one.
Or so he thought.
⸻
Back in the forest, Julien's fists tightened. His gaze was still locked in the direction Arthur had vanished.
"I thought I was the strongest among the Northern nobles my age…"
"But that boy… he makes me feel like I've been walking in his shadow all along."
Arthur was different.
Not just a prodigy, but a phenomenon.
The stories were true—maybe even understated.
A boy who opened his first circuit at two years old.
A genius who could mimic and master sword skills instantly.
Now, at eleven, all nine mana circuits awakened—and he had even mastered Sword Aura.
Julien should've felt defeated.
But he didn't.
He smirked.
Because he had his own path—his own silent advantage.
⸻
He looked down at the silver ring on his finger.
A mysterious artifact he had found hidden in his family's ancient vault—an item that responded to no one else, not even his father.
That ring had changed everything.
A soul resided within it.
An ancient will from the Upper Realm, long forgotten by the modern world.
Not a demon, not a ghost—a mentor. A guide.
No forbidden cost.
No corrupted deals.
Only knowledge—deep, sacred, and powerful.
⸻
Julien had spent a year training under this ethereal being.
He had reshaped his spear style, discovered lost stances, and even learned the first layer of Heavenpiercer Spear Arts—a technique said to be used by the gods themselves.
He wasn't reckless enough to rush it. He wasn't a fool.
He would grow stronger step by step.
And one day…
Even Arthur would look up to him.
⸻
The soul within the ring spoke softly in his mind:
"Do you regret meeting him?"
Julien chuckled.
"No. In fact… I'm glad I did."
"Now I know what I have to surpass."
The ring remained silent.
Julien turned toward the distant roar of beasts and battle cries.
He twirled his spear with a sharp breath, posture perfect.
"Arthur may be the storm…"
"But I am the flame that survives the storm and burns brighter afterward."
With a swift leap, Julien shot forward, eyes blazing with clarity
......…
Arthur had no idea what Julien was thinking about him—he was too focused on collecting points. Nearly five hours had passed since he left the goblin village. He had slain many monsters and gathered close to 2,000 points. But truthfully, Arthur wasn't paying attention to the points; he was more focused on fighting fierce beasts. At this point, he'd lost track of how many he had taken down.
As a beast lunged at him from the right, Arthur cleaved through it with lightning speed, then followed up with an upward slash, slicing another attacker clean in half. He sheathed his sword and sat beneath a tree to take a short break.
"I've already earned as many points as I did in the goblin village, and still… I haven't found another awakened 9-mana-circuit beast. The one at the village gave me 450 points, and the rest of the goblins added up to 515. But in the last four hours, I've only managed another 1,000. Point collection is getting tougher…"
If any of the other students had heard him, they might've passed out in shock—or tried to kill him out of envy. For most of them, collecting 1,000 points would be enough to secure first place. And Arthur had already doubled that.
He activated [Mana Regeneration], drawing in the surrounding mana to restore his energy. But no matter how much mana he replenished, his stamina remained dangerously low—after all, he'd been hunting nonstop for five hours. This was the biggest downside of [Mana Regeneration]: it restored mana, but not stamina. Only top talents, or non-human races like demons and dragons, could store high-level mana reserves and recover quickly.
Now fully recharged, Arthur pushed forward through the forest—until he spotted a lion-like beast. Its fur was jet black, and its eyes glowed a deep red, completely devoid of pupils. The aura it released was terrifying, enough to make most competitors flee on sight.
Arthur activated [Appraisal]:
[Black Flame Lion]
[Level: Peak Rank 1]
Arthur's eyes widened. A Peak Rank 1 beast? That was leagues above the beginner-level Rank 1 monsters. Even if ten beginner Rank 1s attacked together, they wouldn't leave a scratch on this thing.
He immediately suppressed his presence and moved silently—but the lion had already sensed him. Its head turned toward Arthur, and a cruel smile crept across its face.
"Damn," Arthur muttered, trying to retreat—but the lion pounced. Arthur narrowly dodged and counterattacked with his sword, but the beast blocked him with a paw, then shot a condensed flame ball from its mouth.
Arthur slashed it down in one strike, extinguishing it mid-air.
He activated his Sword Aura and blinked forward, aiming for the lion's neck—but the beast blocked again, and this time countered with a double strike to Arthur's stomach.
Blood spilled from Arthur's side as he stumbled back, shocked.
It blocked my Sword Aura… without evading?!
That wasn't normal.
"A mutated beast…" Arthur muttered.
Mutated beasts were different from regular ones. They were often born from powerful bloodlines and were nearly impossible to defeat without a massive gap in power. Even at the same level, they could overpower most opponents. And Arthur had only awakened his 9th mana circuit.
Arthur took a deep breath, a strange smile forming on his lips.
He wasn't afraid anymore.
He wanted to beat this beast.
He activated his next skill and jumped high, launching another attack. The lion roared and fired another flame ball.
Both attacks collided in a blinding explosion.