His eyes opened as his face contorted into a devilish smile.
It had been a year and a half since Ace had been dragged to the Spirit Realm by force.
Since then, he had had a lot of ups and downs with the two divine beings accompanying him on his training.
Despite that, he had pushed through it, and had finally completed his training.
He remarked over the beatings he had gotten from the Celestial of Enlightenment with a melancholic expression.
Despite the unwillingness of coming here, he had adjusted to the place so much that he didn't want to leave.
Of course, he missed his family very much, but extra training would help in the long-term, since he had an important battle to fight in a few years.
He had turned 16 two months ago, so his third year at Academy 07 would probably start tomorrow or the day after.
He wanted to rejoin Academy 07 so that he could collect subordinates as well as training regularly.
He had given up the thought of poaching Leo to join him as a subordinate, and now thought of him as a 'friend' instead.
So, he had to find some great talents and poach them over.
Getting up from his bed, he entered the shower.
Having grown tremendously, his height was now 6'1 and he had a wolf cut with hair that fell down to his shoulders.
Wearing a white tunic and a black robe like usual, he headed up through the elevator, eventually arriving at the training grounds.
There, he spotted two figures.
Both of them had not grown even a bit and still looked like 9 and 8 year old children.
"Ah, you're finally here. Ace, we need your opinion."
"Yeah!"
They both ran up to Ace and said.
"What do you need me for?"
Ace asked as he bent down to match their height, acting like a parent.
"Do you prefer bubble gum ice cream or pistachio?"
Akash asked, his face red from arguing with Larry for the past six hours about the same thing.
"Hmm, I would prefer bubble gum ice cream. My father likes pistachio, but I absolutely despise it."
Hearing his answer, Akash pointed his finger at Larry, and with a smug grin, said…
"Ha! It looks like only old people like pistachio ice cream!"
Ace was perplexed by this since Akash was technically Trillions or maybe even Quadrillions of years old, but decided against questioning it.
"Now, let's begin the last day of your training, Ace."
Akash said as he pointed at Ace.
The latter nodded, asking the former what the training was.
"Spar with Larry using all of your strength. Larry will use mana block to reduce his rank to D-, which is two major ranks below yours. He will also be using all his strength."
Ace's eyes widened as he realized what he meant.
Of course, Ace had achieved the B- Rank in his days of training, but battling a D- Rank Celestial who still had all of his abilities? Impossible.
Despite this, since it was the last day of his training, and since he wouldn't kill Ace anyway, he agreed.
"Okay, stand before each other."
"Bow."
They bowed while standing before each other.
"Begin."
Ace quickly unsheathed his blade, which was an A Rank artifact he had gotten from the treasury.
Using the blade he quickly utilized [Blitz Step - EX] to circle around his opponent, causing ripples to form in the atmosphere.
As the training continued, Akash wrote the procedures of skills down so that Ace could learn them as he went on.
In order for his body not to suffer harm, he only gave Ace a skill every four months, which meant he had 4 extra skills from his time in the Spirit Realm, and [Blitz Step] was one of them.
Whoosh!
Like the cold breeze of a chilly night, Ace moved around the battleground like air, flowing without any restrictions.
He wasn't affected in the slightest by the air pressure, since an EX Rank skill was equivalent to a Demigod's power when used at that amount of strength.
However, since Ace was only at the B- Rank, the skill's potential was lowered a bit.
Still, it didn't mean it was something to be underestimated.
Larry used something of a 'big guy's' arsenal.
It meant he used skills like [Tank], [Berserker], [Strength Overload].
This meant he was at a clear disadvantage with Ace using speeds involving speed and rapid movement.
Despite this, he stood there with a leisurely smile, not bothering to move even though Ace unleashed a devastating strike at any moment.
Unlike Akash, Larry didn't have a skillset of billions of skills. He only had the amount he had acquired for himself.
Despite this, he was alright.
Ace coated his blade with aura, mana, and aether, which had grown significantly, and darted towards Larry at inhumane speeds.
Despite this, Larry didn't move an inch.
Some people may call it fortune-telling, some people may call it 'telling the future', but for Larry, it was a feeling of intuition.
As Ace used the first move of [Sword Saint], a ringing sound reverberated throughout the arena.
Larry didn't move at all. However, a barrier formed before him, deflecting the entire attack like it was nothing.
There wasn't even any noise.
Having expected this, Ace quickly activated the Intermediate Level Mastery of [Sword Saint], which he had acquired during his training.
His pupils turned green and the aura around him turned black.
In an instant, he used [Short Distance Teleport - SSS] to close the gap between him and Larry before using the second move of [Sword Saint], Horizontal Horizon.
Suddenly, it felt like reality itself had been cut in half as a cracking sound emerged from Ace splitting air.
Crack!
A tiny crack emerged on Larry's barrier as a devilish grin appeared on Ace's face.
Having figured out the intensity and durability of the barrier, he could now use his strongest attack and destroy it in one blow.
However, things didn't go as planned as instantly, five barriers appeared before Larry.
Now, there were six barriers Ace had to take care of, and it was impossible for him to shatter them all in one blow.
'What do I do?'
Remembering something, he gathered aether above his shoulder.
Immediately, four spears made of a purple substance appeared on Ace's shoulders.
"Go."
Ace said in a soothing and calming tone as the spears darted towards Larry, not minding the air at all and flying at inhumane speeds.
Despite this, Larry only revealed a leisurely smile.
However, so did Ace.
As the spears flew towards Larry, Ace formed six more, sending them towards the same direction.
Then, using [Blitz Step], he darted across the training ground and appeared near Larry.
However, Larry was faster as he created another barrier in the direction Ace emerged from.
However, the latter only maintained his smile as he finally began unleashing his trump card.
'No, not right now.'
He decided before using his sword, imbuing as much aether as possible into it, and slashing at the singular barrier in front of him.
Causing a small crack in the barrier, he performed a backflip as he widened the gap between him and Larry.
Then, he noticed that five out of six of Larry's barriers in the original direction had shattered due to Ace's aether.
However, Larry had created more than twenty of them, surrounding his entire body.
Now, Ace was the one in a disadvantageous position.
"You've certainly gotten better, Ace. Now, I'm sure you can hold your own against A- Rankers. However, against a Celestial? Impossible."
"It's quite a pity, really. Even though you've suppressed your rank using mana block, it's still impossible for me to defeat you."
"Of course."
"Then why don't I just self-destruct?"
"Huh?"
A devilish grin appeared on Ace's face as the air around him changed completely.
In the end, he was about to use everything he had on one attack.
Despite the backlash he would suffer, he knew he had to defeat Larry. It was his last day in the Spirit Realm, and he couldn't let it go to waste without an outstanding accomplishment.
"What the hell are you doing, Ace?"
Larry yelled, trying to dissuade Ace from doing it.
"Stop whatever the fuck you're doing!"
Akashic Records screamed, his voice cracking uncontrollably.
Of course, he would be swept up in collateral due to Ace's reckless behavior.
Moreover, he would have to waste a potion healing Ace back to health.
However, Ace didn't stop.
He couldn't.
He had come so far with the help of these people, even if they were using him for their own selfish reasons.
He had spent a year and a half with them, and they had obviously gotten close.
Ace quickly began using every offensive skill he possessed.
He quickly used [Body Augmentation], encasing him in a layer of mana to protect him from his own attacks.
He used [Mana Manipulation] to gather mana on his blade in an extremely concentrated position.
Then, he used [Aura Manifestation] on his blade as well, causing it to shine yellow and white.
Then, he used [Aether Manipulation], adding a color of purple to the equation.
Following that, he used the Intermediate Level Mastery of [Sword Saint], causing his pupils to turn green.
Then, he used [Self Fire- Affinity] and [Self Darkness-Affinity], the third and fourth skill he acquired during his training.
Due to this, the color of his blade had a mix of white, yellow, purple, orange, and black.
And then finally, to unleash this devastating combination and to blast his foe into oblivion…
He used Vertical Tear, the first move of [Sword Saint].
He used Horizontal Horizon, the second move of [Sword Saint].
And then, he combined the two, forming the third move of [Sword Saint], Diagonal Devastation.
"Diagonal Devastation!"
He screamed as his eyes soon turned lifeless.
The strength in his arms ran out and his body was blasted with the backlash of such a reckless decision.
He fell on his knees, blood spraying everywhere.
However, he had already unleashed his attack by then.
The weather of the Spirit Realm changed immediately, but it wasn't due to Ace's attack.
It was due to Larry's counter-attack.
The weather turned gloomy as Larry grimaced.
He had never seen such a reckless but powerful move from anyone in his entire life.
This move was powerful enough to absolutely disintegrate a person at the A+ Rank, but it could also easily kill the caster itself instantly.
"Akash, go tend to Ace's wounds."
He said in the midst of battle as the attack approached him.
"I've gotta use 'that' to block this, since I can't stop mana block right now."
Stopping mana block would immobilize anyone, even if it were a Celestial since blocking the flow of mana, which is like blood, can have severe repercussions.
That's why he had to block Ace's attack while being at the D- Rank.
Of course, that would prove to be a massive challenge; possibly a fatal one at that.
However, although his mana was reduced by a significant amount, he was still a Celestial.
As Larry's body glowed yellow, a huge barrier, four times the size of his previous ones appeared before him.
This time, however, it glowed a golden-yellow color.
It was curved on the sides and pointed forward, towards the direction that Ace's attack would come from.
This all happened in a split second as the attack soon landed on the barrier, almost crushing it.
However, Larry used more mana, emptying his reserves to form the same barrier once again, fully neutralizing the attack, which glowed white, yellow, purple, orange, and black.
Of course, as soon as he did, however, he fell flat on his face.
"Oh, come on!"
Akash cried as he realized he had to clean up after the two who had fallen unconscious after messing everything up.
He tried waking them up but their injuries were far too severe for them to awaken for the next couple of hours even with a potion.
He took out two purple potions and put them against both of their mouths.
He couldn't bother helping them swallow the potions, so he just poured them into their mouths.
"They're strong anyway. Hopefully, they survive."
As if he couldn't be bothered by the incident in the least, Akash walked away, leaving two half-dead corpses of a Celestial and a very strong but reckless human.
*
*
*
As Larry woke up, his head was immediately struck with intense pain.
He massaged his temples in order to alleviate the pain, but it didn't work in the least.
"Did that damned Fragment of a Primordial not give us potions?"
He arrived at that conclusion and couldn't be bothered to think about Akash's actions.
He quickly woke up and was stunned by what he saw.
Replacing his previously healthy abs even with the appearance of a child was a huge scar.
The scar stretched from his waist to his chest, covering his belly button in the process.
"Ace…"
He unconsciously said the boy's name.
Initially, he had saved him from death solely because he had inherited his legacy.
However, now he had displayed potential that surpassed all mortals he had seen before.
The boy had gone from E Rank to B- in only a year and a half.
If that wasn't even, he had the combative strength of an A- Rank.
Moreover, the attack he used against Larry could disintegrate an A+ Rank and severely damage a S Rank.
All of this had happened in only a year and a half.
Normally, on Earth, a human would enter the academy at F+ or E- Rank, since they had to be nourished before their awakening as a mana wielder.
After that, one could possibly achieve the D or D+ Rank by the time their third year began.
However, Ace had achieved B- rank, even though he began at the F- Rank on his first day.
Although unbeknownst to this, Larry could still imagine what kind of potential Ace would have, since it took mortals at least five to six years to achieve B- or B Rank, possibly even B+.
"I should probably go talk to him."
Larry unconsciously muttered as he exited his room.
Walking up to Akash's room, he asked about Ace's whereabouts.
"Ah, he woke up several hours before you. He went to Arlo's place a couple hours ago, though. Haven't seen him since."
"Arlo's place, huh? Does he want a weapon?"
"I had him steal all the adamantium from your dungeon."
"What!? There was adamantium in my dungeon?"
"You didn't know? Anyway, if he somehow reaches Demigod level like you said, he'll need Orichalcum for his weapon, since he's a swordsman."
"Right… I wonder who's going to have to steal it from Delilah's treasury."
"I don't think her treasury possesses Orichalcum. I think we'll need to get it the old-fashioned way."
"What's the old-fashioned way?"
"Ransacking Deity Domains."
"How could I expect any more from you, you petty thief."
Hearing this, and not being able to refute, Akash could only smile faintly.
*
*
*
In the middle of a city in the Spirit Realm, a boy with a wolf cut could be seen walking into a shady shop named [Arlo's Workshop].
Inside the workshop, he spotted a middle-aged white-haired man and a boy who looked seven at the most.
Both of them were spirits who had come from a planet named Clayla after their death.
"Oh hey, Ace."
"Hey."
Ace responded as he approached the pair.
Having commissioned a weapon from the adamantium he mined from the Ashes of Yggrasil, retrieve it.
Arlo quickly pointed towards an artifact, reading Ace's mind.
As his gaze fell upon the artifact placed on a desk in the corner of the room, his eyes couldn't help but glitter.
The long-sword was a sight for sore eyes.
The hilt had been made using adamantium as well, but had been covered with shagreen to offer a better grip.
The shagreen was colored gray, the same color as the blade, which was made using pure adamantium.
"What rank is it?"
"Well, since Queen Delilah left, we haven't had enough materials to create a high-tier weapon, so its grade has been adjusted to Demigod Rank."
Ace's eyes widened at the revelation that Arlo had made the weapon better than John would have.
He inwardly thanked Akash for bringing him to the Spirit Realm, causing him to make the most out of his harvest.
"What are you going to name it?"
Stroking his chin, he quickly thought of some names that fit the description of the blade.
Since it was gray, a name associated with darkness or gloominess.
"Night's Accessory, 'Shadow.'"
Arlo's face lit up with excitement as if he had won the lottery.
"For the first time, one of my customers has picked a decent name for their weapon."
He thanked the gods for finally receiving such an understanding customer.
Smiling faintly, he sheathed his new blade, 'Shadow' into his scabbard and left the workshop.
"Tomorrow, I'll return to Earth."