[NARRATOR POV]
"Bloody hell! Bastard, Claude, you're cheating!" Ash's voice cracked with fury as he hurled the accusation across the courtyard, his drake's wings still beating dust into the air from their abrupt landing.
"What the hell, man? Are you insane? Did all that work finally drive you over the edge?" Claude retorted, genuinely questioning his friend's mental state.
The last thing they needed was Ash creating a scene at the Milshion branch, especially when they were still establishing their credibility here.
"Damn it, you really forgot what I told you about what would happen when your predictions came true?!" Ash's eyes blazed with a year's worth of accumulated frustration.
"Brother, I know you want to roast me alive, but there's actually something called time, place, and occasion to consider before you decide to do it..." Claude sighed deeply, massaging his temples.
He was well aware that Ash had always been prone to dramatic outbursts, but this level of public spectacle was beyond even his usual antics.
"Damn you, you little... Who's this old grandma? She's ruining my dramatic entrance!" Ash gestured rudely toward Reida, his manners apparently having deteriorated during his travels.
Isolte bristled at Ash's crude behavior, her hand instinctively moving toward her sword hilt, while Reida merely chuckled at the young man's misconduct.
It was only after she had reflexively prepared a counterattack that she realized the fireball hadn't actually been dangerous—it was precisely controlled, designed to look threatening while remaining mostly harmless, filled more with illusion than genuine destructive force.
A drake that can modulate its attacks mid-flight, making fireballs smaller and less dangerous as they approach their target. It was Reida's first encounter with such sophisticated magical control from a tamed creature, and she found herself impressed despite the rudeness of its master.
This Arbalest organization truly was a collection of extraordinary individuals—little monsters that, once fully matured, might prove challenging even for someone of her caliber to handle.
"She's our patron, Water God Reida Reia. Don't be rude to her—she's someone who protects us now." Claude stepped forward as he spoke, delivering a sharp slap to Ash's cheek without warning.
"Ugh! What was that slap for? Damn!" Ash clutched his face, the sting bringing tears to his eyes.
Claude hadn't held back—Ash's cheek was already swelling from the impact, a red handprint blooming across his skin.
"Anyway, it seems you haven't improved your attitude since we parted ways, have you?" Claude's tone carried the weight of disappointment mixed with familiar exasperation.
"Shut your trap, bastard. You dare say that after dumping all your work on me? Are you for real?" The plan had been clear from the beginning—Claude was supposed to command Division A, with Ash serving merely as support.
But the bastard had gone and gotten himself teleported away, leaving the entire operation on Ash and Mike's shoulders. They'd spent nearly a year drowning in the chaos, worrying themselves sick over the hectic situation.
Dealing with entitled nobles from across the continent had been a nightmare. More often than not, Ash had been forced to resort to intimidation and outright violence to handle the troublemakers—like that pompous Duke from Saint Port who'd needed a particularly firm reminder of his place.
Thankfully, Ash had been careful not to invoke Arbalest's name during those incidents. However, his actions had still managed to sour relations between the Duke and anyone from the Central Continent, creating diplomatic ripples that Mike was still trying to smooth over.
"Wait... you mean we actually need protection from our elders to make things easier?" Ash paused, processing Claude's earlier words with growing realization.
Isolte's patience finally snapped at the continued disrespect. She unsheathed her blade in one fluid motion and launched herself at Ash.
"Whoa! Hey, what's wrong with this crazy girl?!" Ash yelped, barely managing to dodge her initial strike.
"Rude bastard! Who are you calling crazy?!" Isolte's speed increased with her anger, her blade singing through the air.
"Go on, my beautiful wife! Cut that bastard to pieces!" Claude called out from the sidelines, his enthusiastic cheering only serving to fuel Isolte's fury and accelerate her assault.
"Damn it, Claude! Help me!"
In the aftermath, Ash sat in the middle of the room receiving treatment from C, his body a canvas of bruises and bandages.
His Charizard was recuperating outside—not seriously injured, but utterly exhausted from their long journey across the continent.
"Still, the fact that Charizard can execute such convincing feints... you've actually improved tremendously this past year. That's genuinely unexpected." Claude's praise was sincere, though Ash could only glare at him with undisguised resentment.
"You have no idea what kind of hell I've been through with Division A..." Ash's voice carried the weight of accumulated trauma. "Even that Sword King Ghislaine you're so proud of isn't much help when you're battling dragons and other monsters in the Dragon Range. Hell, even the creatures in the Begaritt Continent see Charizard as nothing more than a potential snack!"
Over the past year, Ash had crisscrossed every corner of the Central Continent with his drake. Since Charizard couldn't carry multiple passengers without severely impacting flight speed and maneuverability, Ash had been forced to travel alone—faster than a group, but infinitely more dangerous.
"This oversized lizard may look impressive, but his stamina is pathetic," Ash continued bitterly.
"Well, do you think it's easy flying around an entire continent with someone on your back? Even that Sword King can't fight effectively in midair, and the mana density at altitude is terrifying. Even for an intermediate mage like me..." The atmospheric mana at flying altitude was thick and chaotic, requiring constant magical adjustment just to maintain stable flight.
As Ash's tamer and trainer, Claude had repeatedly emphasized the importance of mana control and capacity expansion.
Like Claude himself, Ash possessed the potential to reach advanced levels in spell mastery, but was consistently blocked by his limited mana reserves.
Most people were naturally restricted to intermediate-level mana capacity. The only way to break through that barrier was to achieve a mana burst—a dangerous process that could only succeed if the practitioner's body and mind were properly prepared to handle the sudden expansion.
Unlike Claude, however, Ash had never committed to serious physical conditioning. His sword skills were only marginally better than Rudeus's—roughly equivalent to Paul's level when Claude had first begun training.
"That's exactly why I kept telling you to train your body more, even if you couldn't master swordsmanship," Claude pointed out.
"Claude, you need to realize that not everyone is as much of a training maniac as you are," C interjected, nodding in agreement with Ash's unspoken complaint.
Unable to argue with that assessment, Claude decided to change the subject. "Did you manage to resolve the Division A situation?"
"I sent Ghislaine to handle the remaining issues. She should be able to clean up whatever mess is left, with all the major problems already dealt with by adults. Now the great Master Tamer Ash is free to assist with your mission here." Despite his injuries, Ash managed to inject some of his old swagger into the declaration.
"Excellent. Let's start with some training then." Claude moved toward Ash with purposeful intent.
"C, help me!" Ash's plea fell on deaf ears as C deliberately looked away.
"Please! I'm still injured here!"
Ash of the Arbalest
He had become a legend almost by accident—a talented monster tamer who drew the attention and envy of nobles throughout the Asura Kingdom.
His magnificent drake had instilled fear in knights and mages across the realm, its very presence enough to shift the balance of any confrontation.
Following Arbalest's official establishment, numerous individuals had sought to undermine the organization's growing influence.
They came with the intention of damaging Arbalest's reputation and spreading rumors about the Boreas family's inability to properly manage their new venture.
Wave after wave of challengers had arrived, each confident they could expose Arbalest's supposed weaknesses.
One after another, they had their pride thoroughly crushed, until finally a Royal Knight of the Asura Kingdom decided to join the fray. This escalation had pushed Arbalest into genuinely dangerous territory.
To earn the title of Royal Knight required achieving advanced rank in either magical or weapon mastery—an elite tier that few ever reached.
The challenger they faced, however, wasn't merely advanced. He was a renowned Saint-ranked master, a warrior whose reputation preceded him across multiple kingdoms.
No one in Arbalest possessed the individual strength to match such an opponent. Recognizing the severity of the situation, Mike had reluctantly called upon Ash for assistance.
The appearance of a monster tamer on the battlefield had immediately shifted the atmosphere. When the colossal drake descended from the sky, its presence alone sent ripples of fear through the gathered crowd.
That single, earth-shaking roar had reverberated through the capital of Asura, announcing the arrival of something beyond ordinary comprehension.
The air itself had grown thick with tension as the Saint-ranked Royal Knight finally took the threat seriously. He abandoned all pretense of casual superiority, bringing his full power to bear against the monstrosity before him.
Even with everything he had, he had still fallen short.
That decisive victory had cemented Arbalest's position as the premier fighting force in Fittoa territory, while simultaneously marking a turning point in the region's political landscape.
From that day forward, the name "Sky Rider Ash" had become synonymous with aerial dominance throughout Ars, spoken with equal parts awe and apprehension by those who understood what it represented.
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