The warm sunlight of morning filtered through the cracked windows of the Hage Village orphanage, casting golden stripes across the wooden floor. Children stirred in their beds. Sister Lily called out for breakfast, and the familiar scent of barley porridge filled the halls.
But Kael was already outside.
He stood near the wooden fence that bordered the orphanage and the wild forest beyond. Sword-shaped leaves danced around him—leaves he'd shaped with his Elemental Control during morning training. His crimson eyes narrowed as he adjusted his stance.
> "Form: Tempest Fang."
In his hands, a new creation emerged—twin short spears forged of swirling wind and hardened metal essence, both summoned directly from his imagination and fueled by his expanding grimoire.
He hurled them forward, and they spun like drills, piercing through the old training log with perfect symmetry.
> [System Alert: Targeting Precision Skill +1]
> [Current Physical Level: 9]
> [Spell Synchronization: 14%]
Kael exhaled slowly. His mind constantly worked through layers—refining spells, designing new ones, measuring movement against mana flow. Each morning he trained with more intensity, more purpose.
He had to. Because something had changed.
---
Midday – Hage Village
While Asta tried to convince Sister Lily to marry him (and failed, again), Kael helped chop wood behind the church with Yuno. Between swings of the axe, Yuno looked over.
"You're pushing yourself harder lately," he said, pausing. "Even harder than usual."
Kael didn't answer right away.
He chopped again, then said, "You felt it too, right? During the ceremony."
Yuno nodded. "The pressure. The grimoire that responded to you—it wasn't normal. And when that rogue attacked…"
Kael dropped his axe, his gaze turning toward the distant woods.
"I've felt something since then. It's like a pulse. A beat coming from the forest. Faint, but… not human."
Yuno frowned. "Mana beast?"
"Maybe. But it feels older."
---
That Night – Beyond the Fence
The wind howled as the forest stirred under moonlight. Kael slipped past the fence after lights-out, cloaked in a veil of illusion formed from basic space-bending. He moved like a shadow between the trees, each step calculated, silent.
He stopped suddenly.
> There.
A claw mark. Fresh. Deep. Sliced into stone.
He knelt, tracing it with his fingers. Whatever did this wasn't ordinary. Then, his ears twitched—soundless to others, but clear to him.
Crunch.
A presence moved beyond the trees. Fast. Big.
Kael's grimoire flared open.
> [Spell Cast: Echo Bind – Wind Detection Grid]
Mana threads spread across the forest, mapping terrain and movement. Within seconds, he spotted the source: a massive beast—eight feet tall, fur black as pitch, eyes glowing silver, and jagged mana leaking like steam from its mouth.
It looked almost… corrupted.
Kael stepped into view.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said calmly, hands lowering. "But if you step near the village—"
The beast roared and lunged.
Kael moved.
> [Spell Cast: Edge Reversal – Dual Form]
Twin blades met claws mid-air with a crack of pressure. Sparks flew as the anti-magic edge bit into corrupted fur, burning it back. The beast howled and twisted, swiping again.
> BOOM!
Kael flipped back, slashing a symbol into the air mid-fall.
> [New Spell: Phase Anchor]
– Space-type spell: Locks enemy in a fixed position using inverted gravity nodes.
The beast suddenly slammed to the ground as the spell activated, unable to rise.
Kael approached slowly, breathing steady, mana circulating smoothly.
He narrowed his eyes. "You're not just a beast."
As he drew closer, he saw it—beneath the fur, layered into its body—arcane branding. Curse marks. Magic experiments.
Someone had done this.
Then the beast convulsed.
A black crystal buried in its chest exploded with dark light, burning the curse deeper.
> "Kill… the chosen…" a voice whispered from the shadows.
Kael's eyes flashed crimson.
> "Not today."
> [Fusion Spell: Spirit Blade – Gale Howl]
A new weapon formed—an elegant longblade wrapped in green wind and spatial rings, created from elemental fusion and bound spirit energy.
Kael slashed down.
> FWOOM!
The crystal shattered. The beast roared, then collapsed—lifeless, peaceful.
The forest quieted.
---
Back at the Orphanage – Later
Kael returned just before dawn, slightly bruised but steady. He slipped inside through the back, only to find Sister Lily waiting in the kitchen with folded arms.
"You've been sneaking out more often."
Kael smiled sheepishly. "Just watching the stars."
She walked closer, eyes softening. "You remind me of your father… Always watching, always fighting to protect everyone—even before they asked."
Kael paused. "Did… did he know he was dying?"
She nodded. "But he smiled even at the end. Said you'd grow stronger than him. That you'd carry everything forward."
Kael's throat tightened.
"I don't want to just carry it," he whispered. "I want to change it. All of it."
---
System Update – That Night
> [Combat Data Logged]
– Beast: Unknown Arcane Experiment
– Status: Eliminated
– Spell Unlock Progression: 42%
– Fusion Capacity Upgraded
– New Trait Gained: "Cursed Mana Sense" – Enables detection of arcane corruption
> [Next System Objective: Investigate the Crystal Cult]
Kael stared at the new mission text as his grimoire closed softly beside his bed.
There was more at work than just knights and exams. Something old. Something twisted.
And he had just stepped into its path.