Reivan blankly stared at the central stone platform, internally debating whether he could reach it by leaping across the water. However, he was convinced that even if he could activate all of his buffs twice, he still wouldn't be able to cross nearly fifty meters in a single bound.

'Dammit. What the hell do I do...? I don't think he'd give me an unsolvable task, so there must be a way, right?'

Perhaps taking pity on how much trouble he was having, Donovan said, "Do you want a tip?"

Reivan's eyes brightened as he nodded.

"Use your head." The old man said before turning his back on the flabbergasted boy.

For a moment, Reivan had thought Donovan meant for him to use his head to bash some kind of hidden switch that would magically conjure a bridge across the water.

Donovan made his way to the far end of the platform before he continued talking. "Stop thinking about how impossible it is, and start actually thinking of a solution."

Reivan's eyes widened for a moment. He felt like he'd been struck in the head.

'...Baldylock's right.'

The Sword Star had said something about this yesterday. Sometimes, battles are lost before they even began because of defeatist mindsets. Reivan had almost fallen into a similar situation.

'I was thinking like some sort of loser. If there isn't a way, then I'll just make one. That's the winning mentality.'

Reivan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Without even opening them again, he roughly sat down with crossed legs. He hung his head low and began to wrack his brain for an answer.

To get his brain warmed up, he decided to take stock of his current situation.

Where was he?

'In a training room beneath a big-ass mountain.'

What was in the room?

'Stones paving the walls and floor. Lots of water. Me. And a prickly old man with a bald head and an unnecessarily sharp tongue.'

What did he have to do?

'I gotta get into that platform with the baldy. Without getting wet. And without the help of anybody else.'

What did he have on hand?

'Uh... candy? Some food, lots of steak sauce, and some juice... Dammit. It's all fucking food!'

Reivan grimaced at the realization that the contents of Zoro's stomach were all food — which, he further realized, was what should be found in something's stomach.

'Wait a minute... Zoro!'

He could just ride his scaly buddy across. The danger noodle could levitate after all. Size wasn't an issue either, since an enlarged Zoro could easily ferry a hundred Reivans across the lake in one go.

'Oh. Fuck. I'm supposed to do this on my own...'

Reivan gingerly raised his hand and looked at his instructor. "Uh... you said to do it by myself. Is Zoro counted...? Zoro's my bond after all, so in a sense, he's part of me..."

Behind his back, Reivan crossed his fingers, hoping against hope. Sadly, his wishes were shattered almost immediately.

"If you have to ask to make sure," Donovan's aged eyes, sharp like a hawk's, met Reivan's. "then assume that the answer is negative."

"Yes, sir..." Reivan's shoulders slumped as he looked down and rubbed his chin, returning to his thoughts.

'So I really only have myself, huh...'

With no materials around him, nothing useful in his storage, and seemingly no way built into the room to cross the water, Reivan only had himself.

'Haha... should I peel off all the stones on the walls and floor, then throw them in the water to make a bridge...?'

But that idea died before he could chuckle about its absurdity. With how deep the lake was, Reivan may not have enough stones anyway. And even if he had enough stones, it would take him far too long. Heck, he wasn't even sure it was possible to peel the stones away from the floor. For all he knew, they could be magically attached or something.

'If there was some kind of friendly monster in the lake, maybe I could've bribed it with food.'

That thought made him smile. He couldn't help but imagine all kinds of water-type pokemon swimming around in the lake.

'Haha. I'm so dumb...'

Joking around in his head had successfully blown away all of his pessimism though. Now, he was ready to seriously think of something. At least, he really hoped so.

'I only have myself, huh?

Needless to say, Reivan wasn't just some ten-year-old.

He was a ten-year-old with powers.

'The problem is... I don't think I have something that can solve this particular problem...'

Still, he decided to think about it some more.

'Who knows? I might come up with something.'

First, he brought up his status screen.

~^+— Unit's Statistics —+^~

Name: Reivan Aizenwald

Species: Hybrid

Realm: Mortal

Age: Cannot Be Calculated

Sex: Male

Special Abilities [Supreme Insight] [Indomitable Willpower]

[Essence of Falsehood] [Drug Memorization]

[Glimpse of Eternity]

Might: 18 Extra Skills Elemental Affinities: [Lightning] [Chaos] [Darkness] [Ice] [Chaos Origin]

[Taunt]

His Might being what it was, Reivan decided to leave it alone and look at his affinities.

'My affinities... are worthless at the moment. I don't even know how to use them...'

If he knew how to do it, freezing the water and walking across a bridge made of ice was an option. Maybe even creating a path from hardened shadow was an alternative — if hardening shadows was even possible, that is. He'd have to ask Valter later.

'[Glimpse of Eternity] is... also mostly worthless. Unless I use it to ask Kana-chan for some advice. I guess I'll leave that as a last resort. I don't wanna pass out in front of this baldy. [Drug Memorization] is out too. So is [Essence of Falsehood]. As for [Supreme Insight]...'

Reivan opened his eyes and used [Supreme Insight] on the water.

'Maybe it has something special to it...?'

[Water]

An essential resource for most living creatures.

It is just normal water.

It's much cleaner than what is normally found in bodies of water, however, it is — without a shadow of a doubt — normal water.

It is recommended that you drink it every day.

'Worthless. And I can sense the sass, you piece of shit.'

That meant his only ability at the moment may as well be [Indomitable Willpower].

'One sub-skill isn't even unlocked yet and [Intent] is just a buff as far as I know, so I guess I'll have to do something with [Formless Will], huh?'

Sub-Skill #1:

[Formless Will]

Active:

This unit can use its willpower to influence energy and the objects around it.

Creatures or objects with wills of their own are affected less.

(This does not consume any energy)

Luckily, he had something in mind. The problem was that he didn't have enough practice doing it, so he wasn't one hundred percent sure he could pull it off.

'I should probably practice before doing it for real...'

Reivan looked toward his instructor. "Sir. Can I ask if there's a time limit?"

"Hmm..." Donovan, who'd been watching Reivan the whole time, stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before replying. "There is no particular time limit."

'Great. I can just keep on trying...'

"However," Donovan's droll voice pulled Reivan out of his internal relief. "It would be wonderful for both of us if you complete the task before your sister-in-law gives birth to your nephew."

"Huh...?" Reivan's brows furrowed in confusion. "But she's not even pregnant yet..."

"Exactly."

"...I'll try to hurry up, sir."

Reivan turned away from the aged knight, not willing to meet the old man's gaze. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his Soul Armament while bracing his ears in case his instructor protested. Luckily, it seemed the fact that Soul Armaments were technically alive hadn't spread yet, since Donovan said nothing.

'Thank god... Father didn't tell everybody yet.'

With a mental sigh of relief, Reivan controlled the Soul Armament with his ability.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

'Here comes the hard part...'

While using it throughout the years, Reivan had discovered a number of things about [Formless Will] — things that [Supreme Insight] didn't deign to tell him about.

First, was how it strangely considered living entities as "objects" as well. He'd used this fact frequently while playing with Hector and Helen, lightly pushing them away during games like Chase the Monster and Knights n' Thieves. Reivan had even done it to himself during his little lesson with the Sword Star. With his ability's help, he was able to propel himself forward, if only a little.

Second, objects without wills of their own could be controlled incredibly easily, compared to objects with wills of their own. [Supreme Insight]'s description failed to emphasize it enough. The difference was like night and day. To control an inanimate object, Reivan expended the same amount of effort to raise a hand. On the other hand, trying to control something animate was akin to shaving your testicles while drunk.

The third discovery was that as far as [Formless Will] was concerned, there was no difference between a person and the inanimate object they were holding. Meaning, if something inanimate was being held by a living being, it would become ridiculously hard to control with [Formless Will]. This did not seem to apply to his Soul Armament making contact with an enemy though — Reivan surmised that it was due to his contract with the Soul Armament, though he wasn't completely sure — but sadly, restrictions were still applied if he held it.

Which basically meant that the moment he touched anything, [Formless Will] would find it difficult to control. Luckily, the restrictions were comparatively lighter than on objects held by others.

'Here goes nothing...'

Reivan poked the floating sword with his finger and immediately felt his casual control break. The sword fell from the air by an inch before he managed to reconnect it with his will — but only after it was far away from his finger.

'Shit.'

While cursing inwardly, his forehead wrinkled as his brows furrowed. Reivan's eyes narrowed in focus as he attempted to reinforce his control over the blade, cementing its position in the air. With his face screwed up in focus, he then poked the blade with his finger once again. This time, however, the blade did not fall to the cold floor.

'I did it!'

His internal celebration made him lose focus, causing the blade to clatter as it collided with stone. Reivan did not let this faze him though. He hadn't expected to actually be able to do it, seeing as this was the first time he'd ever attempted such a thing.

'I mean, I always knew it was theoretically possible, but still, seeing it come to fruition is nice...'

After taking a moment to do a little celebratory dance in his mind, he took a deep breath to calm his mind. He'd needed to focus extremely hard just to maintain his control by a fraction of a second. Which meant he could only make contact with the sword for only that much time.

'Crap. I'm not even sure I can move my body properly if I'm using so much of my focus on using [Formless Will]. Won't I just fall off spectacularly?'

Reivan had no plans of quitting though. He still had plenty of time to practice.

'Who knows... Maybe I can increase the time I can maintain it...'

Every second counts — or in this case, every fraction of a second counts. After that though, he still had the problem of moving while maintaining focus, but Reivan decided to leave that problem to his future self.

'Well... let's do this. Time for practice!'

Reivan stretched for a second before a serious look crossed his face.

----------------------------------------

For a while, Reivan practically squeezed every drop of focus out of his brain to improve his chances of success. He hadn't been able to lengthen his control time by a lot, but If he continued practicing, he feared that he would be too mentally tired to make the actual attempt. As such, after taking a short break, he got ready while inwardly going through his plan.

"Hoo...haa...." Reivan took deep breaths as he stood a few dozen steps away from the water. "I'm ready."

"Tick-tock, boy." Donovan's voice entered Reivan's ears. "Need I remind you, there's only a few hours before we'll have to return for supper."

'Crap. It's already been that long...?'

Reivan was under the impression that it had only been two or three hours. Realizing he'd pretty much wasted his first day of training, he gritted his teeth and tried to loosen up his muscles. His sweat covered every inch of his body, soaking his clothes and even getting into his eyes but he was determined to succeed. His anxiety made his palms sweaty and he would likely stutter if he tried to speak at all. In fact, thinking about what he was about to attempt, Reivan could swear that he could taste the adrenaline in his saliva.

'Calm down, man. You can do this. The plan you thought of's a good one. Now, all you gotta do is... well, do it.'

However, it was one thing to think up a plan, but it was another thing to actually accomplish it. Words were cheap, after all. Anyone could talk the talk, but not everyone could walk the walk.

A sharp sound reverberated in the underground room as Reivan slapped his cheeks with both hands. He realized he was letting a losing mentality creep into his mind again. The stinging pain from his swollen cheeks managed to snap him out though.

'Damn, I slapped myself a little too hard. Anyway, let's do this!'

"I'm gonna do this!" Reivan roared to hype himself up before throwing caution to the wind and dashing forward. Standing around would've exacerbated his anxiety, and his anxiety, in turn, would dull his actions. Now that he was running like a madman, Reivan found that thoughts of failure were blown out of his mind.

'It's do or die now!'

As he ran as fast as he could, he activated the first buff-type ability he'd ever obtained.

[Beast Gate] has activated!

Might +100%

Might: 18 → 36

The wind on his face passed by even faster as his speed doubled. Reivan's muscles squirmed with ferocious power, demanding to be released.

But it wasn't over yet.

[Armament Energy] fills your veins with power!

Might +300!

Might: 36 → 336

He'd been restraining it earlier, but now he opened the proverbial floodgates, letting his Soul Armament fill him up with warm energy. With that, he received the most powerful boost in his arsenal. Reivan wouldn't have wondered if the floor cracked with every one of his steps, but he was too busy to take a look behind him.

Finally, the buff ability that he had almost no control over — [Intent].

[Intent] has transformed into [Reckless Endeavor]!

Your determination for success has allowed your mind and body to break their limits!

Focus is considerably enhanced!

Bodily functions are improved tremendously!

All Special Ability effects are magnified by a little!

Might +500%

Might: 336 → 426

'Oh...!? That's new! And it's just what I needed!'

Even if the boon seemed small when viewed from a numerical perspective, Reivan couldn't help but smirk as he felt like his body had grown lighter. His limbs' movements felt like water flowing down a stream, smooth and unhindered. It was akin to the difference between a rust-eaten and a well-oiled machine.

'This... This is awesome!'

Reivan wished [Intent] would always transform into this particular variation. A feeling of ecstasy and exaltation filled his entire being, making him feel as if he could do anything.

But his elation didn't last long.

⚠Warning⚠

Greater power comes at a cost!

Your lifespan has been reduced by two years!

'Hah!?'

Reivan wanted to stop and rampage, but he was going far faster than he ever expected. Stopping now would only waste two years of his life, so he threw all other thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand.

The edge of the lake was right in front of him now. If he continued running like a madman, Reivan would fail miserably while looking like a complete idiot.

Just before he did, Reivan put power on his final step and shot upwards diagonally. He soared into the air faster than an arrow fired from a bow, creating a smooth arc over the lake. The effectiveness of the unexpected [Reckless Endeavor] skill had given him far more strength than he expected, shooting his pre-pubescent body faster and higher than he ever anticipated, however, anyone could tell he still wouldn't be able to make it across the indoor lake.

In the first place, Reivan never expected to make it across in a single leap.

"Oh, shit...!" As his ascent slowed, Reivan cursed at the view from such a high altitude. Even if he was used to high places from his frequent flights with his mother, he now lacked the sense of security that her presence provided. Still, he was already on the tiger's back as they say — he had gone way past the point of no return. Luckily, his fear seemed to do little to muddle his brain. He began to prepare his mind for the next part of his plan.

Having reached the highest point of the arc, it was now time to descend. After all, what goes up must eventually come down.

'The moment of truth!'

Suddenly, a silver round shield appeared beneath Reivan's feet, providing a wonky foothold for him. It looked incredibly unreliable as it shook under his lacking weight, but it was enough.

While biting his lower lip, Reivan used the foothold as a launchpad to shoot forward, descending diagonally. Right after his foot left the surface of his Soul Armament, it vanished into thin air, reappearing a meter below, right where he was about to land.

Reivan clenched his teeth as he made it to his second foothold, all while a vein on his temple threatened to pop. Barely a second later, just before his [Formless Will] lost control of his Soul Armament again, Reivan bolted forward as far as he could.

Once again, his Soul Armament disappeared behind him, rematerializing exactly where he was about to land.

----------------------------------------

"Hoh..." Donovan couldn't help but release a sigh of amazement at the spectacle before him.

'To be honest, I thought he'd just fly here on a floating sword or something.'

Donovan was not aware of the intricacies of Reivan's abilities, so he'd expected the boy to complete the first task easily. However, the young prince's practice sessions on the other side of the lake made it clear that was not going to be the case. It seemed that contact with himself made his psychokinesis-like ability less effective.

'I suppose in that aspect, [Psychokinesis] is much better.'

Donovan had battled against a few of the Argonia Empire's espers, so he was well aware of how troublesome it was when your weapons moved against your will.

'His ability surpasses theirs when it comes to affecting living beings though. So I suppose that's something we can celebrate.'

While amending the training he planned for Reivan, Donovan carefully watched the little welp in case he fell into the lake and drowned. He would never be able to forgive himself if the second prince died in such a stupid way after all.

The training he had originally planned for Reivan was already so difficult, Donovan wanted to give the boy an easy win so he could gain some confidence — after all, Donovan couldn't crush the boy's confidence if he didn't have any. However, as it appeared, Donovan had been mistaken.

'I probably shouldn't tell him how other knight cadets solve this problem.'

One didn't even need to have the second prince's special abilities to reach the central platform without getting wet. They just had to think outside the box — or in this case, think outside the room.

On the way to the hall with an indoor lake, one could see numerous wooden doors along the way.

'Why couldn't he just make a bridge with the doors like a normal person...?'

That was exactly what most knight cadets faced with this problem did. They would immediately think of the numerous doors they passed by. Then, they would throw the doors onto the lake to create a makeshift bridge. Sure, some of them still fell into the lake if they couldn't balance themselves properly, but most knight cadets only took a couple of minutes to solve this problem.

'And the boy's having a real tough time with this one...'

It wasn't like the boy was an idiot. His sight was just narrowed by having too many abilities — to the point that he grew a bit too dependent on them as opposed to just using his head a little more.

Donovan would have to fix that.

'Well, there goes my plan to boost his confidence a bit. It's your fault for being a dumbass, kid. You could've ended this smoothly if you thought about it some more.'

Still, Donovan had no intentions of making the next step easier. Even if the boy resented him for it, Donovan had to do it.

'The real world won't take it easy on you. So I won't either.'

Donovan crossed his arms with a hardened expression, closely observing Reivan's strained face. The aged instructor did not miss the flames of determination in the boy's eyes.

'Fortunately, it doesn't seem like you'll give up no matter what I put you through.'