Morning came quietly to the Sirocco estate.
After the excitement of the awakening ceremony, the great mansion finally seemed peaceful again.
The nobles had gone home.
The royal family had returned to the capital.
The musicians, merchants, servants, guards, and ceremonial mages who had crowded the estate the previous evening were gone.
Blue-and-silver banners still hung from several towers, but the celebrations had ended.
Now there was only the gentle sound of morning.
Birds chirped from the trees.
A light breeze flowed through the gardens.
Leaves rustled softly outside.
Far beyond the windows, the horizon slowly changed from dark blue to orange as the sun began climbing into the sky.
Warm sunlight entered Bell Sirocco's bedroom.
A thin golden ray stretched across the floor.
It moved gradually over the carpet.
Past the table.
Across the edge of Bell's bed.
And finally—
Directly across his face.
Bell's eyebrows tightened.
"Mm…"
He shifted beneath his blankets.
The sunlight remained exactly where it was.
Bell turned his head.
The beam followed across his closed eyes.
He groaned.
"Okay…"
His golden eyes slowly opened.
For several seconds, Bell simply stared upward.
His brain was still waking.
Then everything from the night before returned at once.
The Awakening Crystal.
The golden light.
The moving grains.
Sand Mage.
Grain Sovereignty.
His engagement.
His status screen.
Bell's eyes immediately became alert.
He sat upright.
"Right."
He looked at his hands.
A grin slowly appeared.
"Time to start my training."
Bell threw the blankets aside and climbed from his bed.
The floor felt cold beneath his bare feet.
He stretched his arms high above his head.
"Okay."
His old life on Earth had taught him one very important lesson.
Having ability meant nothing if the body could not keep up.
Unfortunately—
Bell looked down at himself.
He was five.
"…This is going to take a while."
Still, five years old did not mean completely helpless.
He had a healthy noble child's body.
And Bell had no intention of doing anything ridiculous that would damage it.
No heavy weights.
No hundreds of push-ups.
No absurd anime training routine.
Just basic conditioning.
Bell started with stretching.
He rolled his shoulders.
Bent carefully from side to side.
Stretched his legs.
Rotated his wrists and ankles.
Then he tried a few squats.
"One…"
Down.
Up.
"Two…"
Down.
Up.
"Three…"
By twelve, his legs were already complaining.
Bell stared at them.
"…Traitors."
He continued.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Sixteen.
At twenty, he stopped.
Bell took several breaths.
"Okay."
He put his hands on the floor.
Push-ups.
He lowered himself.
"One."
Up.
"Two."
Down.
"Three."
At eight, his arms began trembling.
At ten—
Bell collapsed onto the carpet.
Pff.
He stared sideways at the wall.
"This body really is five."
He remained there for several seconds.
Then pushed himself upright.
Still, Bell was smiling.
He wasn't trying to become strong in one morning.
Consistency.
That was the important part.
A little every day.
Stretching.
Running.
Balance exercises.
Basic bodyweight training.
Eventually sword training or some other weapon.
And most importantly—
Magic.
Bell sat in the middle of his room.
He crossed his legs.
Straightened his back.
Closed his eyes.
"Meditation."
At first—
Nothing changed.
He could hear birds.
The breeze.
A servant pushing a cart somewhere outside his room.
His own breathing.
Then slowly…
Bell became aware of something else.
Mana.
A gentle warmth inside his chest.
The same sensation he had experienced when touching the Awakening Crystal.
Bell breathed in.
Slowly.
Then out.
He tried imagining the mana circulating through his body.
Chest.
Shoulders.
Arms.
Fingertips.
The warmth became slightly easier to recognize.
So Meditation isn't just sitting quietly.
It's helping me recognize my mana.
Bell opened his right hand without opening his eyes.
"Sand Manipulation."
Shhhhh…
Tiny particles hidden throughout the room began trembling.
Several grains near the plant pot moved first.
Dust gathered from the floor.
A few grains Bell had forgotten to clean up from the previous night slid toward him.
They rose.
Slowly.
Bell could sense them.
Not clearly.
But enough.
A small cluster hovered above his open palm.
Bell opened his eyes.
The sand remained floating.
He smiled.
"Good."
Last night, he had made simple shapes.
A sphere.
A ring.
A crude dagger.
And of course—
His questionable dragon.
But forming something once was not enough.
Bell wanted control.
Precision.
Speed.
And efficiency.
He spread his fingers.
The sand separated into five tiny groups.
One above each finger.
The grains trembled.
The group over his little finger collapsed immediately.
Bell frowned.
"Again."
He gathered them.
Five clusters.
This time they stayed.
For three seconds.
Four.
Five.
Then two collapsed.
Bell nodded.
"Okay."
He understood the problem.
I'm trying to control everything as one command.
He remembered Parallel Thought.
Bell concentrated.
One part of his attention held three clusters.
Another focused on the remaining two.
The pressure inside his head increased slightly.
The sand stabilized.
Bell's eyes widened.
"There."
He rotated his wrist.
All five groups followed.
Then he tried making them circle one another.
The movement immediately became messy.
Two clusters collided.
Another dropped.
Bell laughed.
"Definitely not there yet."
He continued.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Minutes passed.
Bell experimented with simple shapes.
Sphere.
Cube.
Triangle.
Ring.
Flat disk.
Small wall.
Needle.
The simpler forms became increasingly easy.
Then Bell attempted something more ambitious.
He gathered almost all the loose sand available in his bedroom into a pile.
"Okay."
He stared intensely.
"A mini golem."
Bell pictured what he wanted.
Small legs.
Round body.
Arms.
Head.
Nothing complicated.
The sand rose.
Two short legs appeared.
Then a torso.
Small arms extended.
A round head formed.
Bell's mouth slowly opened.
"No way…"
Standing on the carpet was a tiny sand golem barely taller than Bell's hand.
Its arms were uneven.
Its head was slightly crooked.
But—
It was standing.
Bell moved one finger.
The golem raised its right arm.
Bell moved another.
Its left arm lifted.
Bell smiled wider.
"Walk."
The little golem raised one leg.
It wobbled.
Bell leaned forward.
"Come on."
The foot landed.
Then the second leg moved.
One step.
Another.
Then—
Pfft!
The entire creature fell face-first and collapsed.
Bell stared.
Silence.
He sighed.
"You lasted longer than the dragon."
Bell gathered it again.
Another hour passed.
Then another.
Bell's forehead became sweaty.
His mana slowly dropped.
The golem became more stable.
Its movements stopped looking quite as terrible.
Eventually Bell managed to make it walk from one side of the carpet to the other without collapsing.
Bell raised both fists.
"Yes!"
Knock. Knock.
Bell immediately looked toward the door.
"Come in!"
The door opened.
Heather entered.
"Young Master Bell, good morn—"
She stopped.
Her gray-blue eyes slowly moved toward the floor.
A small sand figure was walking across Bell's carpet.
Step.
Step.
Step.
It lifted one tiny arm.
Heather stared.
Inside, her thoughts raced.
He awakened yesterday.
Yesterday.
Most children spend weeks simply learning how to call their mana properly.
The golem turned.
Its head fell off.
Bell sighed.
"Still working on that."
Heather looked at him.
Bell smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Heather."
Heather regained her composure.
"Good morning, Young Master Bell."
She walked farther inside.
"Have you been awake long?"
"Couple hours."
Heather looked at the sand.
Then at Bell's slightly sweaty face.
"You have been training for several hours?"
Bell nodded.
Heather gave him a look.
Bell immediately added:
"I took breaks."
Heather's gaze remained suspicious.
"Some breaks."
She sighed.
Bell smiled.
"Did you sleep well?"
Heather paused.
"A little."
Bell tilted his head.
"A little?"
Heather smiled.
"I had an errand this morning."
Bell blinked.
"What errand?"
Heather walked toward his table.
"The one you gave me last night."
Bell's golden eyes widened.
"The sand?"
"Yes."
He immediately stood.
"Wait, seriously?"
Heather nodded.
"You found some already?"
"I did."
"That fast?"
Heather smiled.
"I woke early."
Bell stared.
"But why?"
For a moment, Heather said nothing.
Then her expression softened.
"I heard rumors."
Bell's smile faded slightly.
"What rumors?"
"About your awakening."
She looked toward the sand golem.
"Several guests apparently left last night discussing how House Sirocco's youngest child awakened a weak derivative element."
Bell remained silent.
Heather continued:
"Some servants heard it."
Her gray-blue eyes narrowed faintly.
"Some repeated it."
Bell looked toward her.
Heather's normally gentle voice became slightly firmer.
"I disagree."
Bell blinked.
Heather looked directly at him.
"Young Master Bell, I do not understand Sand Magic."
She gestured toward his miniature golem.
"But yesterday you had never controlled sand before."
Her expression softened again.
"And this morning you are making it walk."
Bell looked at the crooked little golem.
Heather continued:
"You may only be five."
She smiled.
"But I believe in you."
Bell was silent.
For someone who had spent his previous life buried beneath work, deadlines, and exhaustion—
Those simple words hit harder than Heather probably realized.
A small smile appeared.
"Thank you…"
He paused.
"…Heather."
Her smile widened slightly.
"You are welcome, Young Master."
Then she seemed to remember something.
"Oh."
Heather reached toward a small pouch hanging at her waist.
Bell immediately noticed.
"What is that?"
"My Item Box."
Bell's eyes widened.
Right.
Another fantasy-world staple.
Heather reached inside.
Her arm somehow disappeared farther than the pouch should physically allow.
Bell stared.
Then—
Clink.
Heather placed one glass vial on the table.
Then another.
And another.
By the time she stopped, ten sealed vials were arranged in a neat row.
Bell hurried over.
"Whoa…"
Each contained a different type of sand.
Heather pointed to the first.
"This is ordinary river sand collected near the estate."
It was light brown with uneven grains.
The second contained very fine pale sand.
"Fine construction sand."
The third was nearly white.
"White quartz sand."
Bell's eyes immediately sharpened.
"Quartz?"
Heather nodded.
The fourth vial contained reddish-orange grains.
"Red iron-rich sand."
Bell smiled.
"Interesting."
The fifth was dark gray.
"Volcanic sand brought by a traveling merchant."
Bell picked it up.
It felt slightly heavier.
The sixth contained golden sand.
"Desert sand."
The seventh—
Dark black grains.
"Black mineral sand."
The eighth—
Coarse tan particles.
"Coarse stone sand."
The ninth contained smooth light-brown grains.
"Riverbank sand with a higher amount of clay and sediment."
And the tenth—
A mixture of sparkling grains.
Heather smiled.
"This one was sold as mixed crystal sand. I cannot guarantee the merchant's description was entirely accurate."
Bell held it toward the sunlight.
Tiny quartz-like fragments sparkled.
His grin widened.
"This is perfect."
Heather stared at him.
Bell looked like someone who had been handed treasure.
"You truly like sand."
Bell immediately defended himself.
"I like experimenting."
Heather laughed softly.
Bell carefully returned the vial.
"Let's start training."
Heather nodded.
"After breakfast."
Bell's face fell.
"Heather."
"You have been awake for hours."
"I can train while eating."
"No."
"Snack?"
"No."
Bell sighed.
"Yes, Heather."
A few hours later, Bell had eaten breakfast, changed clothing, and made his way toward one of House Sirocco's outdoor training fields.
He wore simple training clothes.
A sleeveless dark-blue tunic.
Black trousers.
Light boots.
His hair had been tied securely into its small bun.
Heather walked beside him carrying the sand samples.
The estate's training grounds stretched across a wide open section behind the mansion.
Several fields were separated by stone walls.
Knights practiced swordsmanship in one.
Young mages trained elemental control in another.
Archery targets stood farther away.
Bell's chosen field contained four wooden practice dummies.
The morning sun shone brightly overhead.
Bell entered.
Then stopped.
Nearby servants were preparing equipment.
Two whispered quietly.
"That's Young Master Bell."
"The Sand Mage?"
"Yes."
"I still can't believe it."
"House Sirocco produces Fire, Lightning, Earth, Wind…"
"And he received sand."
A third servant muttered:
"It barely sounds like an elemental affinity."
Heather stopped.
Her expression darkened.
Bell noticed immediately.
"Heather."
She looked toward him.
Bell shook his head.
"It's okay."
"But—"
"It's talk."
He looked toward the servants.
None realized he had heard them.
Bell smiled.
"Remember what I said."
Heather waited.
"Any element can be useful."
She studied him for several moments.
Then nodded.
"…Understood, Young Master Bell."
Bell walked toward the four dummies.
He stopped approximately fifteen meters away.
"Okay."
He opened his Status.
The golden interface appeared.
His eyes focused on his Sand Magic.
SAND BULLET — LV.1
Bell rubbed his chin.
Heather stood several steps behind.
"What will you do first?"
Bell dismissed the screen.
"Start simple."
He took several sand vials.
"For now, ordinary sand."
He opened them carefully and poured the grains onto the ground.
Heather watched.
Bell extended his right hand.
He shaped it like the imaginary gun gesture he had used the previous night.
"Let's test Sand Bullet."
The sand rose.
A small amount gathered around his index finger.
Bell focused on the first dummy.
"Sand Bullet!"
FWIP!
The projectile launched.
And flew completely past the dummy.
Bell stared.
Heather stared.
The bullet struck the grass.
Pff.
Bell lowered his hand.
"…I meant to do that."
Heather smiled.
"Of course."
Bell sighed.
"Again."
The sand returned.
"Sand Bullet!"
FWIP!
This time—
THUD!
The projectile clipped the outer edge of the wooden dummy.
Bell's eyes widened.
"Closer."
He tried again.
FWIP!
Miss.
Again.
FWIP!
Miss.
Again.
THUD!
Hit.
But weak.
Bell stopped.
His eyebrows furrowed.
Why is my accuracy inconsistent?
He looked at his hand.
I'm focusing too much on the target.
He looked toward the space between himself and the dummy.
A projectile was not simply point A and point B.
There was distance.
Direction.
Angle.
Speed.
Trajectory.
And the Sand Bullet itself needed to stay compressed.
Bell closed his eyes.
Heather remained silent.
He remembered his skills.
Spatial Awareness.
Parallel Thought.
Sand Manipulation.
Bell breathed slowly.
One thought controlled the bullet.
Another measured the path.
He imagined a straight line.
His arm.
His finger.
The target.
The center of the dummy.
Bell opened his eyes.
"Trajectory…"
He adjusted his wrist slightly.
The sand compressed more tightly.
"Sand Bullet!"
FWIP!
The projectile crossed the field.
THUD!
Dead center.
Bell's eyes widened.
Heather smiled.
Bell immediately gathered more sand.
"Again."
Sand Bullet!
THUD!
A little right of center.
Again.
THUD!
Again.
THUD!
Again.
THUD!
Sweat gathered along Bell's forehead.
His breathing became heavier.
His MP slowly dropped.
But he continued.
Every shot taught him something.
Too much mana caused the bullet to destabilize.
Too little reduced its velocity.
Loose compression made the projectile disperse.
Incorrect angles ruined accuracy.
Bell adjusted.
Corrected.
Repeated.
Heather watched quietly.
He isn't merely casting the spell repeatedly.
Her eyes followed Bell.
Every time he misses, he changes something.
Bell fired.
THUD!
His wrist.
Another.
THUD!
His stance.
Another.
THUD!
Even the amount of sand.
Heather's expression softened.
He is studying his own magic while using it.
From another mansion corridor overlooking the training grounds, two people happened to pass.
Natalie and Viktor.
Natalie stopped first.
"Oh."
Viktor looked toward her.
"What?"
She pointed through the open archway.
"Bell."
Viktor looked.
His youngest son stood on the training field.
FWIP!
A Sand Bullet struck a dummy.
Bell immediately prepared another.
Natalie smiled.
"He looks like he's having fun."
Viktor remained expressionless.
"He awakened yesterday."
"And?"
"He should first learn proper magical theory."
Natalie looked at him.
"He is practicing."
Viktor's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sand is not considered one of the major elemental affinities."
Natalie's smile disappeared.
Viktor continued.
"It is a derivative."
"So?"
"It has limited destructive capability."
Natalie's gaze hardened.
"Viktor."
He looked toward his wife.
"At the end of the day…"
His eyes returned toward Bell.
"…it is still Sand Magic."
He turned away.
"A weak affinity will remain weak regardless of enthusiasm."
Viktor continued walking.
Natalie remained behind.
She looked toward her husband's back.
A disappointed sigh escaped her.
You are wrong.
She turned toward Bell.
Her son fired another projectile.
THUD!
It struck closer to the center than before.
Natalie's expression softened.
You are judging the name of his magic.
Bell fired again.
But you are not looking at him.
She smiled.
"Grow strong, my son."
Then she continued down the hallway.
Hours passed.
Bell's breathing became ragged.
His legs felt heavy.
His MP was approaching empty.
Heather held out a towel.
"Young Master Bell, that is enough."
Bell wiped sweat from his forehead.
"One more."
"You said that five attacks ago."
"One more successful one."
"You successfully hit the target four attacks ago."
Bell ignored her.
Heather sighed.
"You are extremely stubborn."
Bell raised his hand again.
Sand gathered.
His arm trembled.
Just one.
His mana was thin now.
Bell could feel the difference.
The grains reacted slower.
The spell took more concentration.
Heather stepped forward.
"Bell."
He breathed in.
Then out.
"No."
His golden eyes locked onto the dummy.
"I want to finish properly."
He calculated the path.
Distance.
Angle.
Compression.
Mana.
Bell pointed.
"Sand Bullet!"
FWIP!
The projectile crossed the field.
THUD!
Dead center.
Bell stared.
Then smiled.
"Yes."
His legs immediately gave out.
Heather caught him under the arms.
"Young Master!"
Bell laughed weakly.
"Worth it."
"No."
"Little worth it?"
"No."
Bell sighed.
"Fine."
But his smile did not disappear.
TWO YEARS LATER
Time moved forward.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
Months became years.
Bell trained.
Every morning.
Every afternoon he could.
Sometimes evenings.
He studied.
Experimented.
Failed.
Adjusted.
Tried again.
His room slowly filled with books about geology, magic, monsters, mineral composition, terrain, mana control, and elemental theory.
Heather gathered new sand whenever merchants traveled through Ravelle.
Bell learned differences between:
River sand.
Desert sand.
Quartz sand.
Volcanic sand.
Mineral sand.
Crushed stone.
Fine dust.
Coarse grit.
He practiced shape control.
Sand bullets.
Sand walls.
Binding.
Movement.
Sensing.
Compression.
He trained his body carefully as he grew.
Running.
Balance.
Flexibility.
Basic strength.
Simple knife techniques under supervised instruction.
But Bell did not fight actual monsters.
He earned no monster experience.
So—
His level remained unchanged.
Yet his body and skills certainly did not.
Sunlight shone across the same training field.
Four wooden dummies stood ahead.
They had been replaced several times over the years.
Because Bell had broken the others.
Standing before them was a seven-year-old boy.
Bell Sirocco.
He had grown slightly taller.
His caramel skin carried the healthy tone of someone who spent a great deal of time outdoors.
His black hair remained tied into its practical bun.
White-highlighted bangs framed his golden eyes.
He wore dark training clothes.
Around his waist rested several sand containers.
Heather stood beneath a nearby shaded structure.
Bell stretched.
"Two years."
He stared at the dummies.
"Feels longer."
Then he raised one hand.
"Status."
TING!
A golden screen appeared.
" STATUS "
NAME: Bell Sirocco
AGE: 7
RACE: Human / Reincarnated Soul
LEVEL:1
CLASS:Sand Mage
TITLES
Reincarnated One
Otherworlder Soul
Youngest Son of House Sirocco
Child of the Five Great Houses
Awakened Sand Mage
The One Who Remembers Another World
Royal Fiancé
Persistent Sand Apprentice
ATTRIBUTES
HP: 105 / 105
MP: 610 / 610
STRENGTH: 9
AGILITY: 14
ENDURANCE: 12
INTELLIGENCE: 42
LUCK: 29
Bell smiled.
His level had never moved from one.
But training had improved his physical attributes naturally.
More importantly—
His skills had grown.
" NORMAL SKILLS "
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION — MAX
APPRAISAL — LV.3
Provides more detailed information about low-ranked monsters, common materials, weapons, plants, and basic magical objects.
RAPID LEARNING — LV.4
Significantly improves Bell's ability to absorb magical theory, practical techniques, and repeated training experience.
MEDITATION — LV.4
Improves mental focus and accelerates mana restoration during rest.
DANGER SENSE — LV.3
Provides an instinctive warning against nearby immediate threats.
MANA RECOVERY — LV.3
Increases natural MP recovery.
" ABILITY SKILLS "
SAND AFFINITY — LV.5
Bell's connection with Sand Magic has strengthened considerably.
Sand responds more quickly, costs less mana to control, and remains stable at greater distances.
SAND SENSE — LV.4
Bell can sense movement and pressure through controlled sand within a limited radius.
SAND MANIPULATION — LV.6
Bell can manipulate significantly larger amounts of loose sand with increased speed, precision, and control.
MANA SENSE — LV.3
Bell can recognize nearby active mana sources within a short range.
TERRAIN AWARENESS — LV.4
Bell instinctively notices changes in nearby terrain, including disturbed soil, footprints, loose stone, holes, and unstable ground.
PARALLEL THOUGHT — LV.4
Bell can maintain several simple magical actions simultaneously while remaining aware of his surroundings.
SPATIAL AWARENESS — LV.4
Bell possesses improved awareness of distances, angles, object placement, and movement within his immediate surroundings.
" SAND MAGIC "
SAND CREATION — LV.4
Creates a moderate quantity of sand from mana.
Bell can currently create enough to fill several large handfuls without significant difficulty.
SAND BULLET — LV.6
Compresses sand into a hardened high-speed projectile.
Current power is capable of cracking wooden training equipment at close and medium range.
SAND BIND — LV.4
Wraps controlled sand around a target's feet and lower legs, creating a stronger restraint.
SAND STEP — LV.5
Manipulates sand beneath Bell's feet to enhance short bursts of movement, balance, sliding, and directional changes.
SAND WALL — LV.4
Creates a broader and more densely compressed defensive wall.
SAND SHAPING — LV.4
Allows Bell to create simple temporary objects, figures, tools, and constructs from controlled sand.
SAND STREAM — LV.3
Creates a concentrated flowing stream of sand used to push, distract, erode, or destabilize targets.
SAND VEIL — LV.2
Creates a localized cloud of airborne sand that interferes with vision.
" UNIQUE SKILL "
GRAIN SOVEREIGNTY
Bell possesses extraordinary dominion over grains and granular substances.
Current mastery remains extremely low compared with the skill's unknown full potential.
Through continuous practice, Bell has begun subconsciously controlling different sections of a sand mass independently.
" WEAPONS "
Training Knife
" ITEMS "
Endless Dune Sand Pouch
An enchanted storage pouch created specifically for Bell's seventh birthday.
Stores an enormous quantity of prepared sand while reducing its carried weight through spatial magic.
Current stored materials include:
Common Sand
Fine Sand
Quartz Sand
Iron-Rich Sand
Volcanic Sand
Desert Sand
Black Mineral Sand
Coarse Grit
Bell stared at the screen.
Then smiled.
"Still level one."
He dismissed it.
"But definitely not the same level-one Sand Mage I was two years ago."
He looked toward the first dummy.
Bell opened his palm.
Sand flowed from the pouch at his waist.
Not a handful.
A stream.
Shhhhhhhhhhh—
It poured into the air.
Bell pointed one finger.
The grains compressed instantly.
No hesitation.
No shaking.
No wasted movement.
"Sand Bullet."
BANG!
The projectile launched.
It moved far faster than the first Sand Bullet Bell had ever fired.
The dummy barely had time to exist.
CRACK!
The projectile struck the center.
Wood split.
Bell's golden eyes followed the damage.
A deep crater had formed.
He smiled.
"Again."
Three bullets formed simultaneously.
Heather watched from behind.
Bell extended three fingers.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three projectiles crossed the training field.
CRACK!
One struck the head.
THUD!
One struck the torso.
CRACK!
One broke the dummy's left arm.
Bell rotated his wrist.
More sand emerged from his pouch.
"Sand Stream."
FWOOOOOSH!
A concentrated current of sand blasted toward another dummy.
The wooden structure shook violently.
Bell closed his hand.
The sand wrapped around the dummy's legs.
"Sand Bind."
CRRRK.
The compacting grains squeezed.
The support beams creaked.
Bell stepped sideways.
"Sand Step."
SHHHH!
Sand gathered beneath his boots.
He slid across the field with surprising speed.
Not quite running.
Not quite skating.
Something between the two.
Bell twisted his body.
Another projectile formed.
"Sand Bullet!"
BANG!
CRACK!
The weakened dummy snapped in half.
The top section crashed into the grass.
Bell landed.
The sand beneath his feet dispersed.
Silence.
Heather slowly clapped.
Bell looked back.
"Well?"
Heather smiled.
"You have improved."
Bell laughed.
"Just improved?"
"Considerably."
"Better."
Heather walked closer.
She looked toward the broken training dummy.
Then toward the young boy who had once struggled to hit the same kind of target from fifteen meters away.
"I remember your first day here."
Bell groaned.
"Don't."
"You missed."
"I was five."
"Repeatedly."
"Heather."
"One projectile landed in the grass."
Bell gave her a betrayed look.
"You're supposed to encourage me."
"I am demonstrating how far you have come."
Bell sighed.
"Fine."
Heather smiled.
"You really have come a long way."
Bell looked toward the destroyed dummy.
His expression softened.
"Yeah."
He remembered that first morning.
The vials.
Weak Sand Bullets.
Emptying his mana pool just trying to hit wood.
Now he could manipulate several spells simultaneously.
But—
Bell clenched his fist.
"Not enough."
Heather tilted her head.
"Young Master?"
Bell looked toward his hands.
"I've improved my control."
He looked at the broken dummy.
"My skills."
Then his waist pouch.
"My equipment."
His expression became serious.
"But I'm still level one."
Heather watched him.
Bell continued:
"Training improves the body and skills."
"But without actual combat experience…"
He sighed.
"I can't level."
Heather's eyes narrowed.
"What are you thinking?"
Bell immediately smiled.
"Nothing."
Heather stared.
Bell kept smiling.
Heather's eyes narrowed further.
"Young Master Bell."
"Heather."
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing dangerous."
"That answer confirms you are planning something dangerous."
Bell laughed nervously.
"You worry too much."
"And you are usually the reason."
They began walking back toward the mansion.
Bell clasped his hands behind his head.
Heather walked beside him.
"So how do you intend to grow stronger?"
Bell looked toward the distant forest beyond the Sirocco estate.
"I don't know."
For now.
"But I'll figure it out."
Heather nodded.
"I am certain you will."
Bell continued walking.
Yet his eyes remained on the forest.
Leveling requires experience.
Experience usually means defeating monsters.
His thoughts moved quickly.
There were low-ranked creatures in the forests beyond House Sirocco territory.
Slimes.
Horned rabbits.
Forest wolves.
Small goblins in certain areas.
Mostly F-Rank threats near the safer roads.
Bell had studied them.
He knew their strengths.
Their weaknesses.
Their habitats.
He knew the guards patrolled the main roads.
Then—
Bell stopped.
Heather looked toward him.
"Young Master?"
Bell's golden eyes widened.
A terrible idea appeared.
Which, naturally, meant Bell immediately considered it brilliant.
Tonight.
Bell smiled.
Heather became suspicious again.
"Why are you smiling?"
"No reason."
"Bell."
He started walking.
"No reason at all."
Heather sighed.
Hours later—
Night covered the estate.
The mansion became quiet.
Guards changed shifts.
Servants finished their work.
Most members of House Sirocco retired to their rooms.
Bell stood inside his bedroom.
Fully dressed.
Not in pajamas.
Dark training trousers.
Boots.
A fitted shirt.
Small leather arm guards.
A lightweight dark hooded overshirt.
His training knife rested inside a sheath at his waist.
And strapped securely beside it—
His greatest piece of equipment.
ENDLESS DUNE SAND POUCH
Bell rested his hand against it.
The enchanted pouch had been presented to him for his seventh birthday.
At first glance it looked like an ordinary durable leather sand bag, decorated only with a small silver Sirocco crest.
Inside—
Spatial enchantments created an enormous storage capacity.
Bell had spent weeks filling it.
Sand.
Lots of sand.
Different kinds for different experiments.
Bell checked everything.
"Knife."
He touched the sheath.
"Sand pouch."
Pat.
"Small healing potion."
Pat.
"Water."
Small bottle.
"Mana potion…"
He paused.
"Hopefully not necessary."
Bell looked toward the window.
He had never actually fought a monster.
Training dummies didn't bite.
They didn't dodge.
They didn't hunt.
They couldn't kill him.
Bell understood that.
His heart was beating faster than normal.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew this was risky.
But there was only so much he could learn inside House Sirocco's training yard.
Bell quietly opened his window.
Cool night air entered.
The ground was far below.
Bell looked down.
"…Yeah."
He wasn't climbing.
Bell opened the Endless Dune Sand Pouch.
Shhhhhhhhhh—
Sand poured outward.
Bell extended both hands.
"Sand Manipulation."
The grains twisted.
They formed a long descending slope from his window toward the grass.
Bell inspected it.
"Could be worse."
He climbed onto the windowsill.
Then smiled.
"Sand Step."
Mana flowed toward his feet.
Bell jumped.
His boots landed on the sandy slope.
SHHHHHHH!
Bell slid downward.
His eyes widened.
"Whoa!"
He leaned left.
The sand adjusted.
He leaned right.
The slope curved.
Bell laughed quietly.
"This is way better than stairs!"
He accelerated.
SHHHH!
Near the bottom—
Bell kicked off.
The slope collapsed behind him.
He flipped once—
Poorly.
"Bad idea—"
Thump!
He landed awkwardly but remained standing.
Bell immediately looked around.
No alarms.
No guards yelling.
He grinned.
"Perfect."
The sand flowed back into his pouch.
Bell began running.
He avoided the main roads.
Crossed sections of the estate garden.
Slipped behind servant buildings.
Passed stone walls through areas he had explored during daytime.
His small body moved quickly.
Sand Step helped whenever distance increased.
A thin layer of sand formed beneath his boots.
Shhh!
Bell slid forward several meters.
Then ran again.
Eventually—
He reached the outer edge of Sirocco territory.
Bell stopped.
Behind him stood the distant lights of his home.
Ahead—
Dark forest.
Trees stretched beneath the moon.
Branches swayed.
The road disappeared between them.
Bell breathed deeply.
"This is officially a terrible idea."
A pause.
Then he smiled.
"Let's do it anyway."
Bell entered the woods.
The forest felt completely different at night.
During daytime, Bell had seen forests from carriages.
Peaceful.
Beautiful.
Green.
At night—
Everything became suspicious.
Branches looked like hands.
Bushes looked like monsters.
Every tiny sound made Bell turn.
Rustle.
Bell froze.
Nothing.
"Okaaay…"
He continued.
Moonlight slipped between branches.
Bell kept one hand near his knife.
His other rested close to the Endless Dune Sand Pouch.
I'm looking for F-Rank monsters.
Nothing higher.
Something manageable.
He activated Mana Sense.
The forest remained mostly quiet.
Then—
Awooooooo!
Bell froze.
A howl echoed through the trees.
Another answered farther away.
Awooooooo!
Bell swallowed.
"Wolves."
His golden eyes narrowed.
Then—
His body screamed.
DANGER SENSE!
Bell moved without thinking.
"SAND STEP!"
SHHHH!
Sand erupted beneath his boots.
Bell slid violently sideways.
Something flew through the space where his neck had been.
SNAP!
Jaws closed on empty air.
Bell crashed sideways.
He caught himself with one hand and skidded across the dirt.
His heart hammered.
"What the—?!"
A creature landed several meters away.
Bell looked up.
Wolf.
But larger than any normal wolf from Earth.
Approximately chest-high to an adult.
Dark green-gray fur.
Yellow eyes.
Long claws.
Sharp teeth.
A muscular body designed for chasing prey through forest terrain.
The beast lowered itself.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr…
Bell's heart pounded.
He had imagined this moment for years.
Now that an actual monster was staring at him—
It was considerably scarier.
Bell pointed.
"Appraisal."
A translucent window appeared.
" FOREST WOLF "
RANK: F
LEVEL: 3
TYPE: Beast / Forest Predator
HP: 85 / 85
MP: 18 / 18
STRENGTH: 12
AGILITY: 16
ENDURANCE: 10
INTELLIGENCE: 4
SKILLS
BITE LV.2
A powerful close-range bite attack.
CLAW LV.1
Uses front claws to slash exposed targets.
PACK INSTINCT LV.2
Improves coordination when fighting alongside other Forest Wolves.
FOREST MOVEMENT LV.2
Improves mobility through woodland terrain.
WEAKNESSES
Eyes
Throat
Underbelly
Poor defense against strong ranged attacks
Bell stared.
"Level three…"
The wolf growled.
Bell slowly reached toward his sand pouch.
It almost got me.
His expression became serious.
If Danger Sense hadn't triggered…
Bell felt a cold chill.
This wasn't training.
One mistake meant injury.
Possibly death.
He breathed in.
"Good lesson."
The wolf's ears suddenly twitched.
Bell heard something.
Rustle.
His eyes shifted left.
Rustle.
Right.
Then behind him.
Bell slowly turned.
A pair of yellow eyes appeared within the bushes.
Then another.
And another.
One wolf stepped forward.
Then two.
Three.
Four.
Bell's stomach tightened.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Including the first—
Ten.
Bell stood in the center.
Ten Forest Wolves formed a loose circle around him.
Grrrrrrrrrr…
Bell swallowed.
"Of course."
He slowly opened the Endless Dune Sand Pouch.
Sand began slipping onto the ground.
"One would've been too easy."
Another wolf bared its teeth.
Bell could feel his hands trembling.
Just slightly.
He was seven years old.
Even with twenty-four years of old memories, his body understood the danger.
His heartbeat became louder.
Thump.
The wolves began spreading out.
Pack Instinct.
They were surrounding him properly.
Bell thought quickly.
Ten.
Fast.
They know this terrain better than me.
Don't let them attack from every direction.
The sand around Bell expanded.
One wolf growled.
Bell inhaled deeply.
Then exhaled.
His shaking stopped.
A smile slowly appeared.
"Okay."
Golden-amber mana flickered around his hands.
The sand began swirling around his boots.
The wolves lowered themselves.
Bell widened his stance.
His Sand Sense spread through the grains touching the forest floor.
His Terrain Awareness mapped the ground around him.
Spatial Awareness tracked nearby trees.
His mind split through Parallel Thought.
Bell suddenly felt everything come together.
For the first time—
His two years of training had something real to test itself against.
Bell's grin widened.
"Let's start this training underway!"
The Forest Wolves roared.
Bell laughed.
TO BE CONTINUED