The days slowly passed by, one by one.

Every day, Rylan went just a little bit further. He got closer and closer to the ‘wall’ he’d perceived while training with the soldiers. Every step was strenuous and burdensome, but he did it all the same. Every time his Weak-willed Trait screamed at him, he forcefully shut its mouth. And now, finally, he was at the critical point.

Rylan heaved in the middle of the clearing, trembling. However, he didn’t lower his sword and maintained a perfect stance. With blurred vision, he stared at Gerard in front of him. The red Magic Shield around the man remained unbroken. He let out a breath as his father raised his staff. The earth beneath him shifted, but it was different from Earth Grab. The ground rose as solid spikes, piercing at his vitals with blinding speed.

Focus.

Rylan lightly spun and moved, taking two steps to the right and one diagonal step forward. The Earth Spikes only grazed his clothes, ripping them apart with their sharp tips. But because of the way they had risen, his movements were severely limited by their physical structure. As if he had been waiting for this, Gerard’s staff glowed. Rylan lowered his center of gravity as he let out a breath.

The air around him gathered and shot toward him in the shape of crescent moons.

Falling Snow Steps: Snowfall.

Rylan twisted his body as one of the Wind Blades grazed his cheek, drawing a line of blood. His heart raced in his chest as his muscles complained. Much faster than before, he weaved between the crumbling bodies of the Earth Spikes and jumped. More Wind Blades took shape around him, almost invisible to the eye. He could only rely on his other senses to perceive them and react accordingly. As the Blades neared him, coming from every direction, he extended his legs. Sweat soaked his entire body, but he couldn’t stop here.

Abruptly, he shot to the side, avoiding the Wind Blades by twisting his body. It was as if the air had become solid ground. He stepped on the footings that only he could touch as he used the very atmosphere as a springboard. One of the Blades, which had been coming from above, landed on the ground, immediately cutting into it and carving a wound that was almost a meter deep. As he watched this, the realization that he couldn’t let even a single Wind Blade touch him dawned upon him.

His rushing figure touched the ground. The soft grass reached up to his ankles. Without a moment’s rest, he rushed at Gerard, upturning the ground behind him. He changed his trajectory as needed to avoid the Wind Blades, letting them land on the ground and create long scars. Earth and shredded grass were sent flying through the air. His blade sang in glee as blue mana crawled over it.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Third Movement: Rainfall.

His mana resonated with the Sword Art as he closed the distance between the two of them. The air in front of him parted as he swung his sword. A flurry of stabs and slashes landed on the same spot of Gerard’s Shield, pushing the man back and slamming him against a tree, which toppled over amidst its broken pieces. Every time the blade connected with the Shield, the air vibrated. The shock of the impact flowed through Rylan’s body. Gerard was continuously pushed back. Every swing forced him backward as his feet slid on the ground, upturning the earth and grass.

Rylan could see that his father was unceasingly feeding mana to the Shield, but it wasn’t enough. As he grabbed the hilt with both hands and executed the last slash with gritted teeth, the Magic Shield cracked like glass. His vision blurred, but he couldn’t stop.

Gerard’s expression didn’t even change. The earth beneath Rylan caved in, but he had been expecting it. He jumped up and stepped on the air to rise even higher, before shooting to the side. His father raised his staff. The mana around Gerard ignited and coalesced into the shape of large fire spears. At the same time, the crack on the Magic Shield mended like it had been a lie. Rylan grinned in mid-air.

The Flame Spears – which were three meters long each – flew toward Rylan, piercing through the air and making him feel as if he were standing inches away from a wildfire. There was no doubt that the spell could overcome any defense his current self could muster, but that didn’t matter. No matter how powerful the attack was, it was useless if it didn’t hit.

Rylan stepped on the air again, leaping to the side, but the Spears followed his movement. He continued to run in mid-air as the spell followed him. The Flame Spears couldn’t catch up, but the distance between them wasn’t increasing, either. As he tried to get closer to Gerard, the man’s newly-recovered Shield disappeared. Rylan narrowed his eyes. That could only mean one thing. One more offensive spell was coming.

The air around the Spears moved. It surrounded them and started spinning. Fueled by this, the Flame Spears rotated as the air ignited. In a few seconds, they had become small hurricanes of fire, much bigger than they previously were. The air around them continued to fuel them as they increased in size and temperature over time, dominating the surroundings. A wave of heat hit Rylan in full. Not a single blade of grass on the ground caught on fire; it was a testament to Gerard’s control.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Focus!

His heart thumped in his chest as his vision blurred. Breathing alone was difficult enough, but he was using Snowfall and fighting. It wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed at any second. He grinned as his thoughts reached this point. That only meant that this was something worth doing.

I’m close.

He could feel it. He had touched the ‘wall’ at the start of the day. Instead of letting the opportunity go, he had hurriedly called his father and started a ruthless training session. Now, almost ten hours later, he was almost there. Just a little bit more.

He raised the sword high above his head. The hurricanes of fire closed in on him as he stopped in mid-air.

Mountainpeak Swordsmanship, Second Movement: Landslide.

With a sharp exhale, he brought the blade down. The maelstrom of fire that surrounded him was split cleanly in half as the ground caved in. The storm of fire and sharp winds gave way to the Sword Art that could slash their very structure. A large hole was created as the stone beneath the upturned earth cracked and crumbled, but Rylan floated in the air, unaffected. The cracked ground crumbled for meters on end. The heat itself was split in half.

Now.

In his mind, his forehead touched the wall. Then, he started pushing against it with his hands.

He lunged toward Gerard, right through the path his Sword Art had created. The hurricanes of fire dispersed as the earth in front of his father rose as a wall. Mana crawled over his entire body and sword, circulating as fast as it could.

Stormcaller Sword Style, First Movement: Thunderbolt.

His figure blurred. Like an arrow, he shot at his opponent while thrusting the blade. In less than a second, the attack reached the Earth Wall. The Wall started to fall apart before the blade even reached it, parting to reveal the red Magic Shield behind it. Thunderbolt landed on Gerard’s Shield and kept going. Rylan gritted his teeth.

His inner self pushed against the wall with renewed strength.

Just a bit more.

His entire body hurt as Gerard was flung backward, crashing against two trees and going right through the bark and trunk. Earth sprayed into the air as the deafening sounds of the trees cracking and collapsing echoed.

The Shield cracked again but didn’t fall apart. Gerard only let out a breath before raising his staff. The mana around him gathered and turned into water, then contracted. The pressurized Water Bullets tried to pierce through Rylan’s body, but he managed to avoid them by a hair.

His legs shook. He was at his limit, but the battle wasn’t over. As Gerard recovered his footing and took a deep breath, the onslaught began. Earth, air, fire, and water united in a dangerous offensive. Two spells at a time, the elements alternated. Every attack aimed at his life. Was it because Gerard had grown to believe in his abilities?

He felt as if he were back on the battlefield, amidst a storm of Aura and blades. Truthfully, this wasn’t much different. Rylan grinned. The wounds on his body slowly accumulated. Tired as he was, he couldn’t avoid all of Gerard’s attacks. Spell after spell poured toward him, forcing him away. His admiration for his father grew.

He’s really good.

It wasn’t comparable to Roland, but Gerard’s battle experience and judgment were remarkable. It was to the point that even if he were in perfect condition, Rylan wasn’t sure if he would be able to win, given his current body and Skills. Even when compared to those in his past life, Gerard stood out as a good fighter. He smiled. They were good news. He wouldn’t need to worry too much about his father’s safety.

I will be able to win when I get some more experience in fighting against magic.

It was the confidence of one who had reached the peak once before. The pressure increased. Rylan glanced at his father’s face. It was obvious that Gerard was slightly straining himself, but the spells didn’t stop coming. Rylan knew this would be the moment that would determine whether he would rise or fall and fade into obscurity. The earth rose and wrapped around him as flames threatened to burn him to cinders, but he kept going. Just a bit more.

Rylan endlessly repeated this in his mind. It was as if he had entered some type of trance. His vision blurred even more as the spells missed or grazed him. A few of them landed squarely, as he was no longer in any condition to dodge them all. His clothes were torn to shreds as stone, wind, and water landed on his body. The layer of mana covering his skin was the only reason why he hadn’t collapsed.

It happened once he reached his very breaking point.

The wall crumbled.

A voice resounded in his head.

[Your Trait has changed.]

The nagging desire to give up completely disappeared. He smiled widely. He raised his hand at Gerard after the incoming spells hit him square in the chest, throwing him to the ground. Once the attacks stopped coming, he promptly stared at the sky, taking deep breaths. There wasn’t a part of his body that wasn’t injured, but even the pain felt a bit familiar. After a few seconds, his father came into view. Just like him, Gerard was smiling. Apart from a sweaty brow and robe, Gerard didn’t seem to have been affected by the battle at all.

“So?” Gerard asked. Rylan tried to lift his hand to signal his father to wait, but his body wasn’t responding to his commands. He continued to stare at the sky while taking deep breaths, trying to recover enough to talk. His entire body hurt. It was to the point that he wondered if his father had used this opportunity to beat him up a bit for everything he’d done. Gerard waited patiently.

“It changed,” Rylan finally said after a long while, still catching his breath. As he spoke, pride filled his chest. This was something that he had achieved with his own two hands.

Gerard smiled at him, clenching his fists.

After over a month of endless, grueling training, Rylan’s most immediate objective had been achieved.