Training him would be admitting defeat—admitting that he'd lost to a child. No way in hell he was going to let that happen.
So the scarred bastard delayed crossing Hollow Lake, choosing instead to beat him down in front of his lackeys rather than teach him mana control.
In normal situations, he would've been furious, but with each beating, that idiot kept activating his Limitless passive.
After two days of being tossed around like a rag doll, he barely felt pain anymore. His whole body ached so badly that the new wounds hardly registered.
Noticing that he still wasn't breaking down, they decided it would be a great idea to use him as live bait for their hunt that night.
Their white, blank eyes and giant tusks—not to mention their size—made them terrifying. They stood at least six feet tall. But they all jumped the poor beast together; it didn't stand a chance.
For his role, they gave him a tiny bit of meat while charging the couple extra shards for their meal. And they really couldn't protest. From what he'd learned, they were extremely wealthy. Payment wasn't the issue.
He ate his share, which could barely be called a meal. Those bastards, however, ate well, devouring the entire thing themselves.
After they were done, they extinguished the campfire and went to bed, but sleep didn't come to him that night. His body was in agony. The beatings no longer hurt, but the old bruises remained. Whenever the gentle lady tried to heal him, they stopped her, saying, "It's part of the training." He knew that was bullshit.
The feeling he had while fighting the Black Knight and his father was gone.
Back then, his body just did it on its own, like it was part of him. Now that sensation was gone, along with his self-healing. The more he questioned how it worked, the more unfamiliar it became to his body. He had broken the only thing that had kept him alive.
Just then, the nice lady's husband came to his tent. He seemed off—his tone tired, his face pale.
He couldn't blame them. They made his life miserable, but then again, it wasn't like they had any better options. He had seen how terrifying things could get. He'd watched those hunters slay monsters over the past two days. Who would be crazy enough to take this kind of job?
He sat beside him quietly for a brief moment. When he finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper, making sure no one else could hear.
"How are you feeling?"
"Oh, you know, except for the bone-rattling pain, I'm doing excellent."
The man chuckled. "How are you still smiling after how they've been treating you?"
He was quiet for a while, thinking. The smile on his face didn't fade—if anything, it deepened a little.
Not knowing how to answer the question, he scratched the back of his head. "To tell you the truth, this is probably the best I've ever been treated."
The man's smile faded, replaced by a puzzled frown. "What?"
He wasn't about to waste time explaining his origin story, so he did the next best thing. He changed the topic before the man could suffocate him with more questions.
"I saw you manipulating the ground. Can you teach me how to control mana?"
He paused for a moment. "I can barely explain the basics. The issue is, I'm not good at teaching how to control the flow. But I can try."
A wide smile tugged at his lips. "That's perfect."
For the next few hours, he explained how mana worked. First, he showed him his affinity, which basically meant how many elements a person could use. The man opened his palm, and a brown glow swirled around it.
Each element had its own color—red, blue, yellow, or green. Those who carried multiple elements were considered special, prodigies even. But this man was not. Because of that, his family never bothered giving him a proper teacher.
Everything he told Shiro came from bits and pieces he had heard from the whispers of others.
"The mana core is like our heart. Imagine that inside it is a small flame, currently dormant, sleeping inside you. To make that light burn bright and strong, you gotta let it grow—big enough to coat your whole body. How bright it burns depends on the rank of your core. But if you try to force it to evolve when your body isn't strong enough to handle the pressure, that core might shatter."
He paused. "So just wait until we make it to the city. I'll hire you a real teacher to guide you."
He said it softly, with a worried look on his face, because he knew he had only passed on incomplete knowledge to a child. If something happened to Shiro, it would be his fault.
"Those whose cores shatter are shunned by the world."
The way he said it before leaving the tent seemed odd.
But he enjoyed challenges. Everything he'd ever faced, he never backed down from. There was no way he was about to start now.
Once everything looked clear and quiet, he got to work. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the flame. Controlling his breathing, he slowly imagined the flame growing bigger and brighter. He kept growing it until he felt a stabbing sensation in his chest. The pain wasn't too harsh—he was more upset by the fact it made him lose focus.
"Damn it." He wiped his bloody lips and tried again, this time knowing his limits. But something was off. It didn't feel the same as when he fought his father or the Ebony Knight.
This way felt messy. His eyes widened with realization. "Those bastards… there were no whispers."
But he knew every lie had some truth hidden in it. He knew fire was destructive and dangerous when not controlled. But water was different—it flowed smoothly. Then it clicked—the heat he had felt through his body when fighting.
Letting the mana flow through his veins would give it a path to follow and spread through his body more easily.
Closing his eyes, he replaced the image of the flame with water. Instead of forcing that liquid out, he let it flow naturally, guided by his breathing. He didn't pump it through his body; he let it move on its own.
A moment later, it was flowing throughout him. The bruises were gone. His body felt new.
From his veins, he let it leak into his nerves and muscles—his entire body, not just the veins. Then he realized he could feel mana from the ground flowing toward him, being absorbed.
Crack.
His mana core cracked, yet he didn't feel any sharp pain. Instead, the amount of mana grew.
[You have awakened your core.]
[Current Core Status: Awakened]
A grin stretched from ear to ear. "Interesting."
[Title Granted: King of the Abyss]
[Core Status: Awakened]
[Passive Acquired: Limitless]
[Restriction: Shard Consumption — Prohibited]
[Soul Fragments: 4/100]