The clash of metal echoed in the morning light as Ethan's blade met Velina's in a flurry of strikes. Sweat beaded down both their faces as they circled one another in the training field just beyond the city gates. Birds scattered from the nearby trees each time steel rang against steel.
Velina's eyes narrowed with concentration. "Your form is getting sharper," she commented, breathing steadily. "But you're still opening your left side when you transition from high guard."
Ethan grunted, correcting his stance. "Noted. Again."
They collided once more. Sparks danced where their blades met, each movement more refined than the last. The past days had hardened Ethan's raw skill into disciplined ferocity. And Velina, though only fifteen, was no ordinary girl. Her pose, technique, and speed had nearly equaled Ethan more than once.
As they disengaged, Ethan wiped his brow. "You're strong, you know. If I didn't know better, I'd say you trained with real knights."
"My father insisted," Velina replied. She sheathed her blade. "He said that no daughter of his would live in a world like this without knowing how to protect herself."
Ethan glanced toward the city walls behind them, where distant guards patrolled the perimeter.
"You speak like you've seen pain."
Velina's expression flickered. "Not as much as you have, clearly. But enough to know the world doesn't care how noble your blood is."
They sat beneath the shade of a willow tree nearby. The sound of rustling leaves and their calm breathing filled the silence.
"You've changed," Velina said after a moment. "When you arrived, you looked like a boy dragged through hell. But now... there's something in your eyes."
Ethan stared forward. "I buried my sister, went four days of traveling in the wild, nearly killed by Tartarus Beasts, but pushed forward, killed all of them, I met your father. I'm not the same. I can't be."
Velina looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Ethan shook his head. "Don't be. That pain fuels me now. I swore vengeance. And I intend to keep that vow."
A breeze carried through the field, lifting strands of Velina's auburn hair. She stood and extended a hand.
"Then let's keep sharpening each other, Ethan. Because tomorrow, that assessment won't care about our pain."
He took her hand, letting her pull him up. "You're right. Let's train until the sun dies."
---
The next morning came quickly.
Sunlight pierced through the wide curtains of the merchant's home. Ethan stood in the courtyard with a wooden post before him. His blade was drawn.
He exhaled.
[ABYSSAL LUNGE – READY]
[WRATH COST: 8]
[WRATH: 35/35]
He looked around him, scanning the environs. No one presence, no one watching. He could use it freely. But he failed to notice someone who just came, but hid, watching to see what he was going to do. His eyes narrowed. A distant memory of Licia's laughter floated to his mind. His grip tightened.
"ABYSAL LUNGE!"
He vanished from the spot. Velina was astonished from what she just saw. She heard him shout something and the moment later, he vanished on the spot with dark-crimson streak.
BOOOM!
The impact split the wooden post in half, launching splinters into the air. His blade hummed with residual Wrath, the markings glowing faintly as smoke rose from the cut.
[WRATH EXPENDED: 8]
[WRATH REMAINING: 27/35]
He stood still for a moment, catching his breath. It had become easier to channel the technique. Less taxing, more fluid. His mind synchronized better with the Abyss.
"How is this possible... How can he have such speed... So he was holding back during his fight with Darius. Who is this boy..." Velina was confused and asked questions she would have no answers to, not yet anyways.
She waited like three minutes before showing up as if she had seen nothing
"You're pushing yourself too early," Velina's voice called from behind.
He turned. "I need to be faster. Stronger. The knights won't show mercy."
She tossed him a cloth. "Maybe not. But you'll break your body if you keep straining it before the test."
He caught the cloth and wiped his face. "You're worried about me now?"
Velina raised a brow. "You've sweat all over my father's training mats. Of course I'm worried."
They both chuckled.
Just then, the front gates creaked open. A servant entered, bowing respectfully.
"Young master Ethan, Lady Velina. Lord Kael requests your presence in the main hall."
They exchanged glances.
Moments later, they stood before Kael, the merchant lord. He wore his signature blue tunic, his expression calm and calculating.
"I've spoken to the Academy registrar," he said. "The assessment begins tomorrow morning. You'll both ride out before dawn. Everything has been arranged."
Velina nodded. "Yes, father."
Ethan bowed. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'll repay it in the field."
Kael's gaze lingered on Ethan. "I don't doubt that. You saved my life. I see fire in your soul, boy. Just remember... not all battles are won with a blade."
---
That night, Ethan couldn't sleep. The full moon cast silver light across the courtyard as he stood outside, gazing at the stars.
A soft sound made him turn. Velina approached, wearing a dark cloak.
"Can't sleep either?" she asked.
"Not really," Ethan replied. "Too many thoughts."
She stepped beside him. "Do you think they'll accept us?"
Ethan exhaled. "They won't accept me. I'm not noble. But that doesn't matter. I'll climb higher than any of them."
Velina smiled faintly. "And I'll stand beside you."
He turned to her, surprised.
She held his gaze. "You may not be noble by blood, Ethan... but your will? It's stronger than most kings."
"But it's your point of view Velina. Not everyone see me the way you do. The nobles, the knights, majority are nobles as you said and the rest are from rich families...you see, nobily and riches reigns in the walls of this Kingdom and also does in the Academy." Ethan explained, disgusted at the way things are.
"But me, I am no noble, I am no son of a rich merchant like you, eventually, I will be rejected by all"
"I know all that Ethan but as I said... I will stand beside you... We will walk through that together"
The rich and nobles will always be favored by the population and the law, while the poor will be disregarded, maltreated and seen as vile creature. As if there aren't humans too. But Lord Kael showed him a difference, he fed him, cloth him and even did arrangements for him to join the knights Academy along with his daughter. But one in a thousand meant nothing, he would still hate nobles as much as he lives.
They stared at the sky. The stars shimmered above.
Together, they stared into the night, unaware that tomorrow would ignite the beginning of something greater.
The test would come. And the world would begin to see the rise of a Leviathan-born warrior.