"Just how exactly did it come to this?" Lylia was worriedly looking at Grey who's about to fight Johan in a sparring match stretch his young body with a confident expression.

They were both standing in the middle of the guild's massive training grounds just several rooms away from the room where they were before. It was a massive room with eight giant pillars made of irons and rocks. Warming up and preparing for battle, Grey couldn't help but be cautious about this unknown person that happened to be his opponent today. Aside from his angry looking face, the man seemed to be very calm and easygoing at first glance which makes Grey even more careful.

On the other hand, the queen was just excitedly waiting for the fight to began as she stood together with Jurgen who's also seemingly wondering about the outcome of the battle. The queen's daughter, the little princess was also watching Grey warm up as she tightly held her mother's hand.

'Johan was one of Supreme Arc wizard and Charles' strongest subordinate. And even if that kid is strong enough to defeat an emberman, I highly doubt that he could even lay a hand on Johan. Just what the hell is r thinking.' Lylia's thoughts are filled with doubts. She couldn't even look directly at the kid as she was anxious about the result of the sparring.

An Arc wizard is a tittle given to a wizard below the Supreme arc wizard or the captain. They are also called lieutenants in the Royal military terms and was the second strongest in a squad. Johan Clarksville was one of them, and what's worst is that he's one of the strongest out there who possess an arcane attribute.

Grey has already been warned by his grandfather and was prepared for the worst. Luckily, his mana pool was filled to the brim and hasn't been used it since the other day. But still, he needs to be cautious since this man's abilities are unknown.

"Come at me when you're ready." Johan arrogantly taunted the boy, giving him a confident smile.

'This guy's cocky huh?' Grey thought, getting annoyed by the man's statement. He finished the stretching and got on his usual fighting stance. His right hand holding the sword and his right foot positioned at the rare. He was suppressing his mana from overflowing to the sword to avoid it from getting out of control just like earlier.

"This is just an opinion, but I have a bad feeling about this." Jurgen whispered to himself, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead caused by the tension inside that training room. "I hope this to be over soon. I was just provoking the guy that's why I suggested Grey to lead the raid. My daughter's gonna kill me if she finds out about this." he whimpered.

"I have the upper hand, so I'm not going to use my release form." Johan arrogantly said, standing unbothered in front of Grey.

"Release form?" Jurgen confusedly looked at Lylia. "I thought only captains can release their spirit form?" he asked.

"That's true, however, the squad one is an exception. Their lieutenant was able to release it perfectly, he could be a captain if he wanted but captain Klaus seemingly forced him to stay in his squad." Lylia explained. Her eyes are seemingly anxious and moving everywhere as she speak.

'This could be trouble. Even though he said he wouldn't use it, the fact that he can manage to release it at will only means that his spiritual magic immunity is quite high and that's an upper hand because he could draw mana from the spiritual domain without putting much pressure on his body.' Jurgen worriedly gazed at Grey, giving him some sort of warning glance that the boy could understand.

'Even gramps seems worried about me. Just how strong is this guy?' Grey looked like an insect in front of Johan. His eyes are staring at the man unimpressed as he inhaled deeply. 'Alright, it's time to test how good is this sword.' In one push to the ground, he sprang up in the air, slashing the sword downwards.

Johan reacted well, he managed to deflect it using his sword and even mockingly grinned at the boy. "Is that all you've got?!" He sneered, taunting the young wizard. After advancing forward, he quickly countered by swinging his own sword that was aimed at Grey's lower body without showing any mercy.

Grey saw it coming and stepped back before touching the ground, in a quick release of mana, he managed to create 'Stone Wall' in time, blocking Johan's way. "How 'bout that?" Grey mocked the man with a grin.

"That wouldn't work!" Johan yelled.

To Grey's surprise, Johan broke the wall in one slash, splitting it into two with his sharp sword and then turning it to bits with a semi-explosion that came from nowhere. Although, Grey was expecting this to happen since he was facing a stronger opponent, it was quite surprising that he managed to break it in one sweep. "Are you kidding me?" The young man stared at the lieutenant charging towards him.

"Tricks like that wouldn't simply work against Johan." Lylia commented, carefully watching the battle. "Aside from his swordsmanship, that man has a superhuman strength and reaction time. And moreover, his arcane magic... is simply unmatched."

"You really think cheap walls like that could stop me?!" Johan arrogantly chuckled before doing another swing that almost caught the boy's head. His movements are seemingly faster than before and was surpassing Grey as the battle goes on. Semi-explosions occurs everytime his sword occasionally hits the ground and it was rather confusing for Grey to see it happen in front of his eyes.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

'What's going on? Is this his sword abilities?' Grey asked himself while constantly dodging every swing and cautiously avoiding the semi-explosions. 'Is this his spirits mark's doing?' His body seemingly couldn't keep up with the grown man's speed and was barely evading every strike. After one swing, another one immediately followed and he also needed to be wary of the semi-explosions that occurs the second the swing hit the ground. He keeps on moving away as Johan keeps on advancing and still, Grey couldn't figure out what kind of trick the man was doing.

The moment he saw another explosion happen, he quickly stopped and blocked the sword, letting it explode in front of his eyes. And another thought occured inside his head after witnessing it. 'Could it be—'

"What's wrong? Couldn't keep running forever?" Johan mockingly said, smiling like some kind of victorious man.

"My turn to attack." Grey said with menacing eyes. He quickly positioned his sword in a thrusting position while channeling mana into it. On his command, his sword lit blue and extended a few feet towards Johan.

If not because of his fast reaction time, Johan's chest could've been pierced with the sword's blade. Luckily, he managed to jump to the side in time but he was stunned after landing on the ground and looked at the young man holding the sword. "That extending and reformable sword... that was... forged with a rain toad's essence, right?"

Hearing Johan's statement caused the queen to look at Jurgen and ask, "Is that true?"

"Yeah, even I was surprised the first time I found out." Jurgen replied, not taking his eyes off even for a second from the battle. "It was rather a common type of core but it's really hard to forge and control because of its excessive mana consumption. Seems like Reynold really devoted himself into forging such a masterpiece."

"A sword with rain toad essence is an adjustable sword that can change size and weight based on the user's will. It was a common but indeed a terrifying feats once the user got used to it. It suits your grandson because he was a kid growing up." Queen Leonor commented, with her eyes glued at the sword Grey was swinging around, failing to hit Johan.

Johan quickly stayed meters from the boy, not wanting to be slashed by his adjustable sword. He occasionally steps in to counter but was swiftly blocked and avoided by Grey.

It was an intense battle of concentration that Grey could hardly focus on. He could hardly remember when was the last time he fought with so much focus and thought that his skills got dulled after all this years.

His mind was absorbed in figuring out his opponent's abilities and was having a hard time keeping up with Johan's movements that's seemingly unmatched.

'What is wrong with this guy? Does he even know what rest means?' Grey clicked his tongue and extended his sword once again. This time he almost caught Johan's chin but was quickly evaded by a side step.

Then, Grey commanded the sword to decrease it's length and dashed towards Johan for a second sweep, slightly touching his military uniform by the tip of his blade. 'Keep the momentum going Greed!' He screamed in his thoughts, commending his seemingly overjoyed sword that glows everytime he swung it.

"Don't get cocky brat!" Johan was pissed off by the sight and the moment Grey swung, he vigorously blocked the sword and caused another explosion.

Grey was struck for a second that the sword flew from his grip, and before he knew it, Johan's heel was already planted on his belly, sending him off of his feet and came crashing to the nearby pillars behind him. That was a hard kick that caused a prolonged pain down his tummy and backbone. He found himself lying on his butt, blood coming out of his nose and mouth. "Fuck!" He groaned, gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw. He tried enduring the pain and struggled to get back on his feet.

"The kid!"

"Grey!"

Everyone one who's watching was also shocked by Johan's action. To think that he would actually hit a child was absurd and Jurgen couldn't help but worry for him. "Well, a sparring with real swords was absurd enough though." He whispered. At that moment, the old man was itching to draw his sword and interfere with the battle, but he was halted when he gazed at the boy's face.

Grey was full of excitement and interest painted on his face. He was smiling eagerly as he wiped the blood from his face. "I see now why you can manage to cast explosions even though you're obviously a berserker."

The statement caused Johan to widen his eyes with an angered expression. 'This brat is just trying to piss me off.'

"Is it because of that weapon isn't it?" Grey concluded, pointing at the sword Johan was holding. "At first I was wondering why are you carrying that sword even though you suck at swinging it. But now I realized that you're doing it on purpose. Then I suddenly remembered why berserkers use weapons." He proudly grinned at the lieutenant. "And that eventually leads me to finding out your magic."

Johan slightly jolted upon hearing it, causing him to laugh with interest. "You're not a brat aren't you? This is the first time I met a child with this kind of intelligence. This is interesting."

Lylia who has been watching the scene quietly finally urged to speak. "That brat managed to figure out Johan's magic in mid-fight? Not bad." She commended, almost chuckling.

Getting back to the conversation, Grey continued to explain the intel he got to Johan. "The reason why berserkers use weapons was to give themselves ability to release their mana on the surroundings. As you already know, berserkers can only use magic by letting mana flow in their body. But with weapons as a medium, it can be absorbed and released back." While explaining, the scene earlier where he destroyed Jurgen's backyard with sharp mana played in his head.

"But what if the mana being released is not just mana arts but an attribute or elements. Will it still be released?" Grey threw an intriguing question, causing Johan to smile. It was as if he was letting his opponent to finish the explanation and prove his statement.

"The answer to that is simple, the mana absorbed by weapons is equal to the mana being released. Therefore, magical attributes and elements used by its wielder can also be absorbed and released by the weapon." Johan really finished explaining and held his sword vertically, blade pointing up. He took a quickly sigh before slashing it towards the ground, causing a strong explosion on impact, demonstrating his strength.

"And with that explanation and demonstration, my assumption was proven entirely. Your magic..." Grey paused and took his time to face Johan with all his courage, looking at him with piercing eyes. "... is explosion magic."