The next day, Lilia and Leon are lounging around, and Lilia looks like she’s seen her tax bill—utterly horrified. The preliminary pairings for the Sword God Cup have just been posted, and she’s found out she’s up against none other than Arel himself. In her mind, that’s basically an instant “Game Over.”
Arel, ever the comforting friend, tells her not to feel too bad about it… since her chances of winning the tournament at her current skill level were already pretty slim. (Wow, such emotional support.) Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t make her feel any better.
Fortunately, Leon catches a break—she’s not in Arel’s section of the preliminaries. Still, she’s got a tough lineup ahead and needs to bring her A-game if she wants to make it past the early rounds this year. Lilia, meanwhile, vows to do her best too, even though she knows deep down there’s no universe where she’s beating Arel.
She decides to head down into the dungeon again for extra training and invites Arel to tag along—mostly because she wants a strong bodyguard if things go south. But Arel, clearly having had his fill of dungeon adventures for the week, politely declines.
Just then, Rod walks in and overhears their plans. After finding out Lilia intends to venture into the dungeon again, he warns her to be extra cautious. There’s no telling when Jorg might set another trap, and he doesn’t want to lose his daughter again.
Lilia notices her dad’s genuine concern and assures him she’ll stay alert. Hearing that brings Rod visible relief. Arel, on the other hand, is surprised by Rod’s sudden shift in attitude. After nearly losing his daughter because of Jorg, Rod finally realized that moping over his missing arm wasn’t going to fix anything. He’s decided to start training again, determined to return to form as a swordsman.
Fast-forward a bit, and it’s finally the day of the Sword God Cup Preliminaries! A huge crowd gathers to watch the city’s best swordsmen and swordswomen face off.
Unfortunately for Lilia, her first match ends in a tragic one-way beatdown against a random guy. Despite all her training, she loses instantly and is completely devastated. Arel tries to comfort her with his signature “honesty,” saying her loss was kind of inevitable anyway, so there’s no reason to be sad. (Not exactly Dr. Phil material, this guy.) Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t cheer her up either.
Meanwhile, Arel cruises through all his fights like he’s on easy mode, and his next match will be the finals for his bracket. Lilia, knowing how strong he is, still warns him to be cautious—because the woman he’ll be facing isn’t your typical swordsman.
Arel tilts his head, curious. He thought he’d already seen every type of sword skill in existence during his dungeon runs. But Lilia explains that so far, he’s only encountered swordsmanship-based abilities. His next opponent, however, is a Magic Swordsman, capable of enchanting her blade with magic during combat. In other words… she’s bringing both steel and spells to the fight.
Arel is a bit surprised to see there are no rules against using magic in what’s supposed to be a “swordsmanship” tournament. But then again, he shrugs — it’s not like that’s going to stop him from winning anyway.
He steps onto the stage, and before the match even begins, his opponent — a confident Magic Swordswoman — crosses her arms and says, “Just so you know, using magic is totally allowed! So no crying about it after I win!”
Arel grins. “Oh, don’t worry. I love a good challenge.”
The referee signals the start, and immediately, the girl starts spamming fireballs like she’s playing a magic-themed shooting game. Arel dodges left and right, practically dancing across the stage. He closes the distance and swings, but she blocks and blasts another fireball right in his face. He barely dodges it, feeling the heat singe a few hairs.
By this point, Arel has her completely figured out. “So this is your big strategy, huh? Long-range, short-range — kinda impressive… but honestly, you’re just button-mashing.”
The girl, clearly offended, puffs up and yells, “You won’t be saying that once I use my ultimate technique!” She then engulfs her sword in flames — a flashy move that gets the whole crowd cheering. The flaming waves she unleashes are wild and unpredictable, forcing Arel to actually pay attention for once.
He smiles, impressed. “That’s not bad. Once you master it, it might actually be dangerous. But right now…” He sidesteps another wave with ease. “…it’s still child’s play.”
He notes that if her swordsmanship were even close to Lilia’s level, he might’ve had a tougher time. But this girl came in thinking she could win with nothing but fireworks — a rookie mistake.
Enraged, she screams, “You classless loser! There’s no way I’ll lose to someone like you!”
Arel sighs dramatically. “You’re right — there’s no way you’ll lose… oh wait—” Before she can react, he uses Twin Blades Slash, instantly extinguishing her flames and knocking her out in a single, clean strike.
The crowd erupts, and Arel is declared the winner of his bracket. But instead of celebrating, he scratches his head and thinks, “Hmm… maybe I should learn some magic too. It looks kinda fun.”
A few days later, Lilia barges into her dad’s room, shaking him awake. “Dad! It’s time for Arel’s next match in the Sword God Cup!”
Rod, still half-asleep, grumbles, “I’m not going.”
Lilia, pouting, starts tugging on his arm. “Come on, Dad! Our guild has reserved seats!”
But Rod refuses. “Nope. Not happening.”
She frowns and asks if it’s because he’s afraid of running into Georg again.
He shakes his head. “Nah. It’s not that. It’s just that after I started training again a few days ago, I realized how ridiculously out of shape I’ve become. Honestly, I’d rather face Georg than my sore muscles right now.”
It might even be a challenge for Rod to win the Sword God Tournament in his current condition. But the way he talks about winning — like it’s just another day at the office — really ticks Lilia off. After all, she couldn’t even qualify for the tournament this year!
She glares at him and declares, “You’re coming to the arena today, whether you like it or not!” Then she physically drags him off the couch like a rebellious teenager forcing her dad to attend parent–teacher meetings.
Once Rod is finally dressed and ready, the two head toward the arena. And though he complained the entire way, Lilia knows her father too well — even if she hadn’t forced him, he would’ve shown up secretly anyway. The man never misses a chance to watch his guild members perform, no matter how much he pretends not to care. Rod doesn’t even bother denying it this time.
Meanwhile, over at the arena, Leon is fidgeting in her seat, clearly nervous about her upcoming match. Arel notices and asks, “You okay? You look like you’re about to fight a dragon, not a person.”
Leon sighs, “Can you blame me? This is the biggest hermit in the city we’re talking about!” (She meant the most reclusive champion — but it still sounded like she was calling her opponent a cave dweller.)
To make things worse, she won’t even know who her opponent is until the match starts, which only makes her nerves worse.
Then the announcer’s booming voice echoes through the arena:
“Ladies and gentlemen! The first match of the day — last year’s champion, the Sword Emperor Georg, versus Arel!”
Arel blinks. “Wait… first match? Already? Against Georg?” He scratches his head. “Well, guess we’re starting with the final boss today.”
He walks out to the center stage, ready for a good fight — but when Georg steps into the arena, everyone gasps. Somehow, he looks even uglier than before, which shouldn’t have been scientifically possible.
Even worse, Arel can feel something dark and sinister radiating from him — an aura that definitely isn’t human.
In the stands, Rod and Lilia are both stunned. Lilia whispers, “Why does Georg look like a monster?”
Rod’s eyes narrow. Then he spots the sword in Georg’s hand and immediately shouts, “Arel! Stay away from him! That sword has a powerful demon sealed inside!”
Down below, the demonic voice chuckles through Georg’s body. “Oh? Someone recognizes me already?”
The crowd murmurs as Rod explains to Lilia that the sword Georg wields is no ordinary blade. According to legend, it’s the same cursed weapon once used by the Sword God himself to slay a demon. That demon’s soul, consumed by hatred, ended up sealed inside the sword.
But that weapon was supposed to be locked away deep in the royal vault — meaning Rod has no idea how Georg could’ve possibly gotten his hands on it.
The demon lets out a low, mocking laugh.
“It was only a matter of time before some foolish mortal came sniffing around for power and set me free,” it growls. “And that idiot… was Georg.”
The creature introduces itself as Durzelda, the ancient demon who once tried to burn the world down. (Which, frankly, feels like an overreaction to being sealed for a few centuries.) Now that he’s free, he plans to finish what he started — total world annihilation.
Though, as Leon silently notes, if he’s really that eager to destroy the world, maybe starting his grand return by waiting for a public tournament wasn’t the smartest plan.
Leon’s eyes widen in disbelief. She remembers reading about Durzelda in her history lessons — a monstrous being summoned by a deranged deity in ancient times. Everyone assumed it was just a bedtime horror story… until now.
The entire arena erupts into chaos. Spectators scream, adventurers panic, and everyone sprints toward the exits. Durzelda, of course, is loving it — laughing maniacally at all the terrified faces. But before anyone can escape, the demon snaps his clawed fingers and casts a massive barrier around the arena, sealing everyone inside.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he sneers. “Let’s make this… entertaining.”
Just as Durzelda prepares to start his massacre, he notices one brave (or very stupid) human standing his ground — Arel.
The demon tilts his head, amused. “You seriously intend to fight me, boy? Shouldn’t you be on your knees begging for mercy?”
Arel cracks his neck, raises his sword, and grins. “Nah. I’m good. After all, you were beaten by a Sword God once, weren’t you? So you’re not exactly unbeatable.”
Durzelda frowns. “True. But according to Georg’s memories, there are no Sword Gods left in this era. Meaning… no one can stop me.”
Arel points his blade at the demon and replies calmly, “Two things wrong with that. One — there is still a Sword God alive. And two — even if I’m not one of them, I can still kick your demonic butt.”
The demon bursts out laughing — right up until Arel suddenly vanishes from sight with Divine Step and nearly takes Durzelda’s head clean off in a single motion.
“W–What?!” the demon hisses, stumbling back. “That ability… only a Sword God should have that!”
Arel smirks. “Guess I’m full of surprises.”
Before Durzelda can recover, Arel charges again, slashing relentlessly. But then the demon grins wickedly as he remembers — he’s still inside the Sword Emperor’s body, and that means raw power. He leaps high and crashes down, striking Arel’s shoulder so hard it creates a shockwave that rattles the entire arena.
As the dust settles, Durzelda begins to gloat — until he realizes Arel is still standing. Perfectly fine.
“What… how are you still alive!?”
Arel wipes some dirt off his shoulder. “Been training my Guts Skill. Turns out it actually works. Who knew?”
Now it’s Durzelda’s turn to panic. None of his attacks are landing, his strength is fading, and the smug teenager in front of him isn’t even breaking a sweat.
Finally, Arel decides he’s had enough. He activates Infinite Break, unleashing hundreds of strikes in a single second — so fast the air itself screams. The demon is completely overwhelmed, his form sliced apart before he can even regenerate.
When it’s over, Arel stands victorious amid the silence.
Georg’s body collapses to the ground, the demonic aura fading away.
Arel exhales, relaxing his grip on his sword. “Well… that was a workout.”
Satisfied that Durzelda shouldn’t be able to attack anymore, he turns and starts walking away — because of course, the hero never waits around just in case the demon pulls a classic “I’m not dead yet!” moment.
Meanwhile, Durzelda is internally screaming every curse word known to demonkind — because he really, really doesn’t want to be sealed away again. But deep down, he knows the truth: there’s absolutely no way he can beat Arel.
So, he does what any self-respecting villain would do in this situation — he plans to run for his life.
But escaping won’t be easy. He needs a new host body, one strong enough to break out of this arena before Arel turns him into demon confetti.
His eyes dart around the stadium. Leon is nearby, but Arel is way too close to her — that’s basically suicide. Then he spots Rod, who looks strong, experienced, and conveniently within range. Perfect.
All of a sudden, Arel notices the demon’s sword shoot out of Georg’s limp hand and fly straight toward him. Lilia shouts his name and dives to push Leon out of the way. But at the last second, the sword veers upward, crashing into the stands with a loud explosion.
When the smoke clears, Lilia is miraculously fine… but standing beside her is Durzelda, now wearing Rod’s body like a new designer suit, holding the blade to her neck.
“Let me go,” he growls, “or your wife dies!”
Arel blinks. “Wife? Uh… news to me.”
Durzelda frowns, confused. “Don’t play dumb. I can see Rod’s memories. Lilia kept saying she was going to marry you!”
Arel sighs. “Yeah, she says that to everyone.”
For a moment, Arel looks like he’s considering just letting nature take its course. But Leon quickly steps in front of him, shouting, “Stop! She’s still our friend!”
Arel shrugs. “Relax, I doubt the demon can actually hurt her anyway.”
And of course, Durzelda, being the prideful villain he is, takes that as a challenge. “Oh, can’t I?” he hisses, raising the sword to slit Lilia’s throat — only to freeze mid-swing. His arms won’t move.
Inside his own mind, Rod is still conscious — and furious. There’s no way he’s letting this demon use his body to hurt his daughter. Summoning every ounce of strength, Rod begins forcing Durzelda out.
“Give up!” Durzelda snarls. “I can make you powerful again! You can reclaim your glory! All I need… is your body!”
But Rod just laughs. “No thanks. I’ve already learned the secret to power — hard work… and a healthy amount of yelling!”
With one final push, Rod wrestles back control, his willpower literally ejecting Durzelda from his body. He grabs the cursed sword, shouts to Arel, and hurls it toward him.
Arel catches it midair, twirls his blade, and — slash! — slices the demonic sword clean in half. The pieces glow for a moment before crumbling into dust, erasing Durzelda once and for all.
The crowd cheers. The demon is gone. The day is saved.
But as Arel stares down at the remains of the sword, one thought crosses his mind:
“If breaking the sword was all it took to destroy the demon… who was the genius that thought keeping it around was a good idea in the first place?”
Later on, back at the guild, Rodd has completely regained his passion for swordsmanship. Thanks to Arel’s spectacular victory, the guild has been flooded with new applicants eager to train under the now-famous “Sword-Crushing Sensei.”
Unfortunately for them, Rodd’s training methods are… intense. While ruthlessly beating the poor recruits into the dirt, he yells,
“Stop relying on your skills so much and learn to defend yourselves!”
The students, half-crying and half-conscious, beg him for mercy — some even praying to whatever god handles muscle pain.
Meanwhile, one terrified trainee is hiding behind a wall, trembling like a leaf, when Lillia catches him red-handed. She crosses her arms and asks why he’s slacking off when everyone else is in training. The poor guy blurts out, “Because Rodd is way too intense! I needed a break before my bones apply for early retirement!”
Lillia giggles a little and admits her dad has definitely gotten more passionate about swordsmanship since meeting Arel. The student then asks if she’s seen Arel today, since he hasn’t shown up all day.
Lillia’s smile fades. She quietly tells him that Arel actually quit the guild recently… and that Leon went chasing after him. She’s been holding it together pretty well up until now, but as she says his name, her voice cracks, and she bursts into tears.
“It’s not fair… He just left me behind…”
Meanwhile, Arel is already on a carriage headed back to his hometown. The driver, clearly a fan, is shocked to learn that Arel was the winner of the Sword God Cup and asks, “Are you sure you want to leave? You’re famous now!”
Arel just smirks and says,
“There’s nothing more for me to learn here. Besides… I need to go home and test my strength. Maybe this time, I can actually beat my mom.”
Back in Arel’s hometown, his mother is peacefully picking flowers in the garden — completely unaware (or so it seems) that her son is trying to sneak up on her. Just as he’s about to pounce, she casually says,
“Welcome home, Arel. I see you’ve gotten stronger. I didn’t even sense you until you were just a few meters away.”
Arel, caught red-handed, awkwardly scratches his head and says he won the Sword God Cup. His mom beams with pride and replies,
“Oh? I did the same when I was a kid!”
Arel opens his mouth to challenge her to a duel, but before he can even finish his sentence, she dashes forward — faster than his eyes can follow — stopping right in front of him, flower in hand, with a grin that says, “You’re still not ready.”
If that flower had been a sword, Arel might’ve been in serious trouble. And that’s exactly why he wants to train with her again — to finally stand on equal ground with the woman who taught him what true swordsmanship means.
Farah smiles and says she wouldn’t mind sparring with her son — but if they fought here, they’d probably reduce the entire house to rubble. So, she suggests heading to the training grounds behind the mountain. Arel, of course, happily agrees because who doesn’t want to show off their new moves to Mom?
Once they arrive, Farah stretches her arms and says,
“Let’s see how strong my little boy has gotten!”
Then—without warning—she vanishes with a divine step and reappears right in front of Arel, swinging down with the kind of power that could cleave a mountain in half.
But Arel was ready this time. After seeing that trick once before, he manages to react just in time, raising his sword to block the strike. Sparks fly as the two clash, the impact echoing across the valley.
Not to be outdone, Arel leaps into the air and performs a wild combo of Divine Slash and Twin Blade Slash. It’s flashy, it’s stylish… and Farah blocks every single hit like she’s just casually swatting away mosquitoes.
She grins proudly and says,
“Not bad! You actually figured out how to combine two skills.”
Arel, panting a little, asks, “What skill did you just use to block that? I’ve never seen it before!”
Farah smirks.
“Skill? Oh, honey… that was just regular sword swinging.”
Realizing this, Arel finally understands what she’s been teaching him all along — that swordsmanship isn’t just about fancy skills and flashy effects. It’s about pure technique. (Though, to be fair, flashy effects are pretty cool.)
Meanwhile, back in town, people are freaking out because the sounds of explosions and shockwaves are echoing from the forest. Villagers are screaming, “It’s a monster! We’re doomed!”
Nope. It’s just a mother and son having a friendly spar that could level a city block.
Farah activates her Divine Presence to try slowing Arel down, but it doesn’t work — he’s already mastered it. Impressed, she laughs and says,
“Alright then, time to pull out the big guns!”
Arel grins.
“You read my mind!”
Both rush forward, unleashing Infinite Break, their swords clashing hundreds of times per second — so fast it looks like they’re fighting in fast-forward mode.
Meanwhile, Leon finally returns home, only to find the village completely empty. She wonders if it has something to do with all the loud booms she heard earlier, but honestly, she doesn’t care — she just wants to see Arel again.
She walks up to his house and knocks on the door. To her surprise, a little girl opens it.
Leon smiles warmly and asks,
“Oh! You must be Arel’s little sister. Is he home?”
The girl takes one look at Leon — specifically at her very generous chest — and her face twists with pure envy.
“Cow.”
Before Leon can process that, the girl tries to slam the door.
Completely confused, Leon holds it open and says, “Wait! I just want to talk to Arel!”
But the girl crosses her arms, glaring up at her like she’s the final boss of jealousy, and snaps,
“Arel would never want anything to do with a cow like you!”
Leon stands there frozen, blinking in disbelief. She’s not sure what just happened… but she’s 90% certain she just got body-shamed by a ten-year-old.
Just then, Arel and Fara return, and Fara tells Arel’s sisters to stop being rude to their guest. The girl gets excited upon seeing Arel again and runs straight into his arms — apparently, boundaries don’t exist when you’ve missed someone this much! But then she notices both Arel and Fara look like they just went ten rounds with a tornado.
Fara sheepishly explains that she and Arel had a friendly match… that got a bit out of hand. One of Arel’s sisters asks who won, and Fara admits that Arel came out on top. Leon (who was watching nearby) looks shocked — after all, Fara is a literal sword goddess!
However, Arel quickly adds that the only reason he won was because Fara isn’t exactly in top shape anymore. She hasn’t trained seriously in years. (He says it in the nicest possible way, of course.) Fara pouts and tells him not to make her sound like an old lady, to which Arel grins and says, “You’re still way too pretty to be one.” Smooth, Arel, very smooth.
Everyone heads inside and gathers around the table. Fara wants to ask about Arel’s adventures in the Sword City but gets more curious about how Arel and Leon met — because who doesn’t love a good romance subplot?
Arel explains that he and Leon lived together while he was in the Sword City. Fara’s face instantly lights up with excitement, clearly expecting some spicy gossip, but Leon quickly clears things up — they were just members of the same guild. No scandal here, folks.
Arel then asks Leon why she suddenly decided to visit him. She says she wanted to know why he abandoned the guild without a word. Arel looks genuinely confused because he’s sure he submitted an official resignation letter before leaving. But Leon isn’t talking about paperwork. She wanted him to say goodbye in person.
Arel, being the classic clueless hero, admits he didn’t think it was such a big deal. Fara steps in with a grin, saying she’s glad Arel has a friend who cares enough to travel all this way to see him. But Leon corrects her — this is actually her hometown, too. Visiting Arel wasn’t her only reason for coming back.
Then, turning to Fara, Leon asks if she’d be willing to take her on as a disciple. The request catches Fara completely off guard. Before she can answer, someone bursts through the front door. Fara immediately recognizes the voice — it’s Evans.
Evans rushes in, out of breath, and tells Fara that they have an emergency. A terrifying sound was heard coming from behind the mountain not long ago, and everyone needs to prepare — because it might be a monster.
Fara and Arel immediately realize that they’re the reason behind the village’s panic. But Fara knows she’ll get an earful if she admits it—so she does what any sane warrior goddess would do: she lies through her teeth. She calmly tells Evans that she already “defeated” the monster.
Evans, being a trusting soul, doesn’t question it. He’s just relieved that the village is safe. Once he finally calms down, he notices Leon standing there and asks when she got back. At first, he doesn’t recognize her—she’s grown so much since childhood—but when he looks closer, Leon reminds him of his late wife, which hits him right in the feels.
Then, Evans asks why Leon is at Fara’s house. Before Leon can answer, Fara blurts out that Leon wants to learn “how to be a good wife for Arel.”
Cue Evans immediately breaking down into tears of joy. He’s convinced his daughter is finally getting married! Meanwhile, Leon practically explodes, waving her arms and shouting that she just wanted to learn swordsmanship—not wife lessons!
Fara, however, doubles down. She says, “Relax, there’s time for both! Sword lessons and wife lessons!” Poor Leon turns to Evans for help, but to her horror, he’s completely on board.
After all, since his wife passed away, Evans has worried about Leon’s future—he’s great with swords, but not so great with homemaking. So he’s actually thrilled that Fara is willing to teach his daughter some “life skills.” Fara proudly assures him that Leon is in good hands, and Evans gratefully leaves her in Fara’s care, telling Leon to “do her best.” Leon just stands there, wondering how her life spiraled into this mess so fast.
Meanwhile, Arel’s father, Georg, has been busy in his study, deep in magical research. He’s not even surprised when Arel walks in—he heard the whole commotion earlier. Arel asks how the research is going, and Georg says he’s this close to a breakthrough. If his theory pans out, it might even become the ultimate technique!
Then, with a smirk, Georg asks if it’s true that Arel brought home a cute girlfriend. Arel doesn’t deny it—but he insists she’s more beautiful than cute. (Smooth, again.) Then, getting serious, Arel says he wants to talk about something important: since he just defeated Fara in a sword fight, he wants Leon to teach him magic.
But Leon shakes her head and says it’s impossible for Arel to learn magic, so he should just give up on that dream.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Fara is bravely trying to teach Leon how to cook. Leon says she’ll do her best—but her “best” turns out to be a devastating critical hit. With one overly enthusiastic motion, she smashes the table to bits.
Leon frantically apologizes for the disaster, but Fara just laughs it off, saying, “No worries! We’ll just start from the basics… like not breaking the furniture!”
A little while later, Arel and Leon finish repairing the table. While Arel is putting away the tools, he asks, “Hey, Leon, why didn’t you just use magic to fix it?”
Leon shrugs and says, “Because Fara likes it when I do things the old-fashioned way — with actual hands, not spells.” But since Arel looks eager to see some magic, Leon picks up Mira’s broken mug and casually casts a rebuild spell, restoring it perfectly.
As they clean up the materials, Leon gives Arel a serious look. “You really shouldn’t get your hopes up about magic,” he says. “You’ve already proven that someone born without a class can master the sword — that’s impressive. But magic? That’s a different beast. You need a large mana pool, and that’s not something you can train like muscles.”
Arel admits that without a lot of mana, learning magic would be impossible… but then he asks, “So if I did have mana, even just a little, would I be able to learn it?”
Leon nods thoughtfully. “Technically, yeah. You don’t need a mage class if you have mana. But honestly, I doubt you have any. If you did, you’d have accidentally cast a spell by now — maybe lit your hair on fire or something.”
But Arel insists otherwise. He explains that back when he was training in the Sword City with Lilia, he used to burn through all the guild’s holy water. So, Lilia went rummaging through the storage and found a bunch of mystery potions for him to use instead.
Leon recalls this part with a sigh. Lilia told Arel not to drink them since they might be poisonous. But of course, Arel, being the brave (or dumb) hero he is, drank them anyway — because he thought drinking poison might give him a Poison Resistance Skill!
In the end, the potions turned out not to be poisonous (thankfully), but Arel did feel something change inside him. He’s convinced those potions restored his mana rather than his divine protection.
Hearing this, Georg—Arel’s father—starts to believe his son might really be able to use magic. So, he agrees to teach him. He asks, “Arel, can you still feel that mana inside you?”
When Arel nods, Leon instructs him, “Try moving it around. Focus it in one spot.”
Arel closes his eyes and gives it his all. At first, nothing happens. Then, a faint blue light begins to glow in his hand.
Georg nearly jumps with excitement. “That’s it! That little spark means you’ve got mana after all!” he says proudly. The light might be small, but it’s undeniable proof.
Unfortunately, Arel immediately starts feeling lightheaded — apparently, that tiny light just used up all the mana he had. Georg chuckles and tells him, “You’ll need to expand your mana pool before casting any serious spells. But hey, hard work is your thing, right? You’ll get there in no time!”
Arel, despite being dizzy, grins. “Guess I’ll just train till I can light up the whole house next time.”
The next day, Arel strolls into the local item shop like a man on a mission—and drops a mountain of gold coins on the counter with a loud clang.
The shopkeeper nearly faints. “Uh… w-what can I get you, sir?”
Arel simply points and says, “All your mana potions. Every. Single. One.”
And that’s exactly what he buys.
From that day onward, Arel dedicates himself to an intense (and probably very expensive) training regimen: draining his mana pool until it’s empty, then chugging mana potions like energy drinks to refill it—over and over again. The shopkeeper, meanwhile, is definitely planning an early retirement.
Six months later, Arel’s efforts pay off. His mana pool has grown large enough for him to maintain a stable glowing ball of mana in his hand.
His dad, Georg, watches proudly. “Nicely done, son! You’ve officially got the mana capacity of a ten-year-old!”
Arel stares at him blankly. “Wow, thanks, Dad… I’ve always dreamed of being as strong as a fourth grader.”
Georg chuckles and hands him a piece of paper covered in glowing runes. “Here. This is a magiscript. Normally, people with a mage class have this kind of thing appear in their head automatically. But since you don’t have any skills, you’ll have to memorize each one the old-fashioned way.”
Arel groans. “You mean… like studying?”
“Exactly,” Georg says cheerfully.
It’s going to be tough. So, Leon suggests, “If you really want to learn magic properly, you should head to the City of Magic. You’ll find plenty of mages there who can teach you the basics—but only once your mana hits the required entry level.”
Arel nods determinedly. “Then I’ll train till my mana pool’s big enough to flood the city!”
Leon sighs. “Please don’t actually flood it.”
